Chicago

Chicago is a great city with a rich history. If you'red not going for an event (like lollapalooza), a weekend is enough to get a lot done. Being as far north as Chicago is, weather is important to research. Locals told us May through October are the best times to visit. We traveled Labor Day weekend, getting in late Friday night and leaving Monday morning, giving us TWO full days of fun.

Day 1

Flight arrived at Midway at 9:45, due to late night arrival, the three of us took a cab ($35) to our hotel. We all worked that day and after checking in, we decided to just grab a bite and call it a night. The only problem was that not a lot of restaurants' kitchens were open past 11, although we were not too ambitious to explore the area.

Day 2
We woke up and took advantage of our hotel’s complimentary breakfast, but we soon found out that Chicago has extensive brunch options. I would highly recommend looking into this (will discuss later). We started off the day walking to Navy Pier. Chicago is a pretty walkable city and the pier was roughly a mile away. Luckily we had perfect temperatures of mid 70's with cloud coverage, which in our opinion is perfect walking weather. First thing we walked up on was a boat tour group. Hindsight is always 20/20, but that’s why we write about our travels and tips… making the mistakes to make sure you don’t! The Go Chicago card is something to look into.  This pass has 25 attractions for Chicago, one being the Architecture River Tour. This was a top attraction for us.

Trump Tower straight ahead!

It is a 75 minute info overload tour with amazing one of a kind views. The guides are great, witty, and very knowledgeable (our guide's name was Sarah). You will pass some of the major sky scrapers of Chicago, like the new Trump Building, the famous Sears Tower, and numerous historic buildings. If you don’t feel like going, but your group does, you are in luck... because there is a full service bar aboard! So no excuses! Visit here for more information. If you do happen to use the Go Chicago card (almost half the cost of the card on one attraction), you CANNOT use the Go Card again that day for another cruise.

Giant SEARS TOWER

Heading back to the pier

Our tour ended right around lunch time, so we continued our walk along the Navy Pier, grabbed an old fashion Chicago Hot Dog and enjoyed the view. If you have the stomach for it, there is a huge Ferris wheel (also on the Go Card) on the Pier. Surprisingly, Navy Pier boasts the most populous attraction in Chicago. After eating we walked off our lunch on our way to Millennium Park. Little to our knowledge, Chicago Jazz fest was going on at the park! The park was extra packed, but this also meant extra stands for beer! Chicago has a lot of local brews to try! We took our picture with the giant bean and just enjoyed the atmosphere.
The weather was forecasted for afternoon rains so we made our way to Shedd Aquarium (also on the Go Card), which is highly remarked as the best Aquarium in the United States. If you are keeping track at home, the river tour ($35), ferris wheel ($16), and Aquarium ($31) totals $82, where as the Go Card cost $80. Here is the kicker… we waited in the Aquarium line for an HOUR. The Go Card also allows you to skip the line! The Shedd Aquarium proved why it is a top rated attraction, housing over 1,000 marine species and multiple habitats from the pacific northwest to the African tropics. For some extra dough, you can watch beluga whales, sea lions, and dolphins at their aquatic shows. We stayed til closing time (lots of animal feedings!) and caught a cab to take us back to the Magnificent Mile area.

Deep dish pizza is Chicago’s thing. Everyone will say theirs is the best, so I am sure you’ve heard of, like Pizzeria Uno, Lou Malnati’s or Gino’s. We tried Lou Malnati's and after only a 45 minute wait, it was worth it. We got the works and washed it down with some local brews. There is more than meats the eye (see what I did there?) as we had to take some home. The atmosphere was what did it for us. W
e were seated outside on the patio enjoying the nice cool night and people watching. Chicago is such an active city! We tried some local bars and hit it off well on the first attempt with Streeters. It is a cool “basement” bar with a young crowd. It is more like a dive bar with a pool table and giant Jenga blocks. This bar is located a block off the magnificent mile and a block from the giant McDonalds!

View from the 96th floor of the Hancock Observatory

Day 3

We woke up a bit later due to the late night. We wanted to visit the Lincoln Park area and started with a cab ride to the Lincoln Park Zoo. This zoo is not nearly as large as the Brookfield Zoo, but it gets the job done. You can learn more here. We spent about 2 hours here and had a great time. On a Sunday morning the zoo had quite a few people, mostly families with small children. The Big Cats exhibit along with the primates was their main attractions. Both were entertaining! We wanted to check out the Brunch scene and ironically enough went to a place called Brunch. Located not too far from Michigan Ave. Guys, are you worried about being out of your element? Fear not, Brunch has a Beermosa that uses a Belgian wheat beer mixed with fresh squeezed orange juice. Thrillist put together a guide to the best brunches in Chicago and of course the boozy brunches too.

We then did the short walk back to Michigan Ave. (more famously called the Magnificent Mile) and did some shopping! Thankfully for my wallet, it was just window shopping. Apparently the people of Chicago envied Paris in the early days and wanted to design Michigan Ave like the Champs Elysees in Paris. Premiere shopping. We got cleaned up and headed to the Signature Lounge. In less than 60 seconds you will be at a bar located on the 96^th floor of the Hancock Observatory (just off Michigan Ave). The Go Chicago Card offers a “360 Chicago View” that has a twist… or should I say tilt? This new feature allows you to lean over the ledge at the 94^th floor behind a safety glass.

Chicago skyscrappers

 For those of you who need reassurance, check it out. Without the pass, it will cost you $18.00. On the other hand you can get two drinks for that up in the Signature Lounge. I recommend going up right before sunset so you can see the the sunset then the city light up in the night sky. Ask to be seated in the area up front, the back is chaos… but add to the chaos by snapping a picture back there (sun sets out that window).
If you love wine, we went to a fantastic wine bar off Michigan Ave. Eno has a calming atmosphere and is connected to the Michael Jordan Steak House. We tried wine flights, cheese flights, and chocolate flights. Everything was fantastic and chooser beware, it wasn’t the cheapest place.

Day 4

We woke up and took the “L”, which is Chicago’s transportation system, to the airport. It is quick and very cheap ($3). It isn’t complicated even though we jumped the gun on our transfer and got on the wrong line! Learn more here.

Til next time!

Fav:

People watching

Architecture River Tour

Wish List:

Chicago History Museum

Museum of Science and Industry

Florence

“I cook with wine, sometimes I even add food to it.”

Some people do not enjoy travel once the destination is reached. I like to explore as much as possible and if that involves a couple hour train ride, I will use it to catch up on some sleep, reading, or recapping the previous day’s activities. My favorite thing to do is to catch other people in their element!

View from the top of the Duomo

View from our Hostel!

We arrived in Firenze mid-afternoon. We wanted to drop our bags off at the hostel first and then explore the city. The only problem was… when we arrived at BB Maison,  my brother and I were told we were too big for their beds. We picked this place mostly based on price, as Florence is much smaller than Rome thus allowing easier access. The owner was very laid back and the hostel hosted a pub crawl, so we were hesitant when he said he had another option. We thought for sure we were going to be moved farther away from the Duomo. Reluctant to see what he had in mind, we followed. To our surprise, we were not only set up closer, but he also knocked off a couple Euro a night with larger beds. Not a bad deal! A Canadian couple had the same "misfortune" so they were placed next to us.

Madonna and Child

We headed to San Marco Plaza, a religious plaza, which hosts a church and a convent. The convent housed many of Fran Angelico’s art work. We looked at some shops around the Plaza checking out wine. We were in the famous wine country of Tuscany and were tinkering with the idea of buying some and shipping it back home. We came up on the Bargello Museum, which looked like an old fortress. Later we found out it was in fact a former barracks and prison. This place wasn’t even on radar prior, but I would surely add it if it isn’t on your list. It mostly contains Renaissance era art like Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child (Bacchus, pitti Tondo), Donatello’s David (not to be confused with Michelangelo's David... that is soon!), among others. Bargello also had some artifacts/coins that were interesting. We were a bit exhausted, so we trekked back to the hostel. We could just barely see the Duomo Plaza and my Uncle who studied in Italy told me the best time to climb the Duomo was at dusk. So, we paid our 8 Euro entry and climbed some of the strangest 463 steps I have ever ascended. There were many tight spots and awkward situations with other tourists descending the stairs. The dome resembles the Pantheon with the oculus in the middle and a thinning wall as you get higher. The height of the dome is 115 meters! After 20 mins and sweat now broken, we made it to the top.

Climbing the Duomo!

The views will blow your mind. It is a bit cramped up on top so we waited out the crowd to get some good pictures. It was worth it! We got back to our rooms in time for a later dinner. We saw our Canadian neighbors heading over to the Hostel for a dinner night. We decided to join them (€2.50 for a pasta plate!). We grabbed a bottle of wine on our way and headed over. The small kitchen was filled with people from France, England, and of course Aussies. After dinner, we all headed to the Fish Pub where there was live music. We hung out there for a bit.  On a side note… my brother decided to buy some famous Absinthe. We briefly toasted with it prior to heading out. It is fowl tasting with a liquorice after taste. After dinner, our Canadian neighbors joined us, and walked and talked all the way to the river. While out there, we ran across a livid and drunk Italian. I don’t speak a word of Italian, but he was pissed at the statues by the Uffizi. He kept spitting on them and yelling. This entertained us for quite some time, but we had another long day ahead of us and called it quits.

Hostel friends

Our Canadian neighbors

Day 2 started rather late… but we didn’t miss a beat. First up was our reservation at the Accademia. I had read that in the high season the lines can be ridiculously long. I took a chance and pre-ordered our tickets (Accademia). There is nothing more frustrating than wasting time in line! The Accademia is most famous for Michelangelo’s statue of David. Michelangelo has a few more pieces along with many other Renaissance era works.

 Our opinion was it did not constitute an entire day, but when in Ro— I mean Florence… The statue of David lived up to the hype. The statue is quite large, maybe 15’ or so. This large marble was whittled down in 2 years with precise detail. It is simply amazing to achieve such precision  considering the technology and tools that existed 500 years ago. After the Gallery, we walked through the San Lorenzo Market which resembled a giant flea market. We picked up some souvenirs. Souvenirs can be a tricky obstacle. There are many things to consider. I suggest reading Becky’s comments on souvenir shopping. The Uffizi was up next. I am not against art or literature; I just prefer much more action packed attractions. Becky is the culture connoisseur, so she loved it. The Uffizi was built to provide openness but at the same time not to block viewing space.

Map of the Uffizi

This is very evident in the internal courtyard. My brother and I maybe lasted 30 minutes before losing interest, but we let Becky enjoy it for a couple hours. It was late afternoon by the time we finished. The famous Ponte Vecchio is very close to the Uffizi, so we hiked over there. It was a colorful market with numerous leather shops, jewelry stores, among others. I would say this area is more expensive, but a great place to get ideas on souvenirs! I took a quick power nap while Becky did some wine shopping. I met up with Becky, and she had made friends with an owner of a wine shop. He gave us a decent deal on shipping 6 bottles back home. I kick myself for not writing down who it was. I would just recommend being smart and doing your research if you choose to go this route. Modern technology should allow all sorts of assurance on quality. Of our 6, Becky and I got 4, my brother got 1, and as a thank you gift to our lovely Aunt who makes all our traveling cheap(er), we got her one.

Ponte Vecchio

 I promised Becky a romantic night on the town so we chose this night to do it. My brother ran off to the nearest pub while Becky and I went to a local restaurant of her choice. It is very common for people to be eating dinner after 8 pm which is considered late in the US. After our delicious pizza (which is not like what you find in the States) and local Tuscan wine, we hit the hay. Our goal was to catch an early ride to the coast.

Date night!

Highlights:

Duomo – Climb to the top!

Statue of David

Wine/food

Art/Culture

Do over:

I would spend an extra day and do a wine tour