It was an uneventful flight but the problems started after we arrived.
First, when we picked up our bags we found that Rick's BRAND NEW BAG had been seriously damaged. It looked like some type of machinery had closed on it and put a huge dent in the top as well as ruined one of the wheels on the bottom. We went to the United luggage counter and the lady there told us that wheels were not covered under their insurance. That was super maddening because his bag could barely roll without that wheel.
She told us that we could still file a claim.
We did and hopefully something will come of it.... but probably not!
Next we got on the train that would take us to the rental cars. We all piled on like cattle and waited and waited. After about ten minutes we could feel the power turn off and that was it. We all started to herd OUT of the train only to have all three million (yes, that's an exaggeration but it truly felt like that many) of us up the escalator to catch a bus in the terminal. While we were waiting for our turn for the escalator we noticed the lights come back on in the train. We looked around and people were starting to get back ON the train so we followed and within just a few minutes we were on our way. Dodged a bullet there.
Next, we got our rental without too much issue but then after checking out and driving five minutes down the road we realized that our car did not have the toll pass that we had purchased. We were trying to get to our Taste of Chicago tour but knew that we had to go back to get that little box. So we did. Budget actually had to give us a different car. We lost a good half an hour doing that which made us late to our tour. It ended up the guide was very nice about it but I hated to keep the others on our tour waiting.
Anyway....we got started off on the wrong foot in Chicago but after those things happened we got back on track and had a WONDERFUL time in the Windy City!
Our time was short in Chicago but let me tell you that we made the most of it!
We started out after the airport fiasco with our Taste of Chicago Tour guided by Max. We met at Geno's East Pizza parlor and started out with a couple slices of Chicago's best pizza, according to Max.
Geno's Pizza is one of the original Chicago deep dish pizza joints. The creator of Chicago pizza worked at Pizza Uno just a few blocks over but at the same time worked for Geno's. She prepared the crust like a biscuit dough and so it required more time in the oven. That is the reason the Chicago style pizza has the toppings and the cheese covered with the sauce on top... so they don't burn.
We did enjoy eating it but it was not our favorite of the trip. Reasoning coming later.
Let's just enjoy looking at the beautiful Chicago style crust!
Next Max took us over a block to the downtown Harold Washington Library Center. We got to go inside and see the beautiful architecture and learn about the building.
This light was really cool!
It is made up of dog tags from those veterans who died serving in the Vietnam War as well as those who have died since.
Next we stopped at Lukes for the famous Chicago dog.
A Chicago dog has a beef hot dog, onions, mustard, dill pickle, and a relish that has blue dye added to give it a crazy bright color! It was explained to us that the vibrant relish was created back when photos were black and white. The regular colored relish fades into the picture but with the blue die it could be seen.
So that's what they did and the tradition still continues today.
Oh yeah, and NO KETCHUP!
I wasn't sure if I would like it without ketchup, cause I love my ketchup. After taking the onions off, (because I don't care for raw onion) it wasn't too shabby. I ate the whole thing!
Here's a picture of our tour group.
People we will never meet again! (more than likely)
Next we walked over to the Willis Building (Sears Tower) to eat at their eatery.
We stopped at Tortazo, a Mexican place for an agua fresca made of lime and basil. It had a different flavor but we were happy to have something to drink because it was so hot outside. We also each got a churro to munch on:)
Our next stop was a couple of blocks away to Jimmy's Grill.
Here we shared an Italian Beef Sandwich. These sandwiches were super delicious but I could NOT finish it. I was too full! Rick had his with the hot peppers but I had mine plain.
Our last stop was at the Broadway Cafe.
Our guide got us each a brownie to share.
We walked over to a beautiful hotel to eat it.
The Palmer Hotel was so elegant and beautiful! In 1871, the hotel's owner had built it as a gift for his wife, and unfortunately just thirteen days after it opened, the Great Chicago Fire burnt down the whole downtown area, including this brand new hotel! Anyhoo, the rich husband had it completely rebuilt. Just a few years later in 1893, when the Chicago World's Fair was coming to town, the wife wanted to be a part of it. She commissioned her best chef to come up with a treat that could be held and eaten while walking around. He came up with the brownie.
And let me tell you that this brownie was SOOO yummy!
Here is a picture of the lobby of the hotel.
and Rick taking a bite of said brownie:)
That night we had a good night's rest at the Sheraton Hotel in the downtown area next to the Chicago River. We were upgraded to a suite and had a wonderful room with beautiful views of the high rises!
Here is our hotel in the daytime...
...and here is our view in the night time...
The next day we had breakfast at the hotel and headed out for a FULL day of fun!
Our first excursion was an architecture boat tour. It was so fascinating to learn about so many of the sky rises in the city. They were so tall and pretty. Our docent guide knew so much about each one.
We finished up with a quick stop on Lake Michigan where we got a beautiful view of the skyline.
After our boat tour we took an Uber over to the Willis building for our ride to the top. There were some cool exhibits on the way to the elevators and thought we'd take a couple of pictures.
When we got to the top we were looking DOWN on SOO many skyscrapers from that height. We were 1,353 feet up on that skydeck. They also had a glass area that we took pictures in. We could look directly down through the glass floor to the street! Kinda scary!
Next we caught the red line towards South Chicago to have lunch at JETS PIZZA!
After having the Chicago style the night before I was hankering for some Detroit style pizza.
We had our first Detroit style pizza in Detroit just a few years ago. To me it was some of the BEST pizza I had ever had. Detroit style is a square deep dish with the toppings and cheese all the way to the edge of the crust. When it's baked this way the cheese get a little crunchy and so yummy.
Well, after finding that there was a pizza place that served Detroit style AND that it was just one stop away from Chinatown we knew that would be our next stop.
Let me tell you...
THIS PIZZA DID NOT DISAPPOINT!!
It was so delicious!
The funny thing was there was no place to sit; it was takeout place only. We had been planning to sit in a restaurant for lunch and were disappointed that it wasn't a 'sit-down' restaurant. Luckily, there was a bench inside the shop completely OUT of the heat WITH AIR CONDITIONING so we just sat on the bench and shared our pizza. What can I say? We made a memory while eating some good grub!
Our next stop was Chinatown and really there is not much to say about it other than we walked around a few minutes, went into a shop or two, and took some pictures.
After catching the red line back to the North, we then caught the brown line to see some countryside.
Our food tour guide had mentioned that it was a nice ride. It was ok.
After stopping at about eight stops we got to talking about massages and we were shocked that we did not think about getting a massage in Chinatown.
If you know me I am not going to pass an opportunity for a massage. We just had two hours until our next event so I was able to find a spa that was not too far away so we hopped off the L and ordered an Uber to take us to Aroma Spa.
We had a lovely couples massage and then had just enough time to order another Uber to get to....
A couple on our food tour from the day before had mentioned that they were going to the game this next night. We hadn't even thought about seeing if the Cubs were playing on our short trip to Chicago but when we heard that, Rick got right on the internet and got us some tickets.
Can I just say that...
IT WAS SOOO FUN!!
We did the whole touristy thing and bought hats and I bought a shirt 'cause well....when in Rome...
The Cubs were playing the San Francisco Giants and seriously it was super exciting being there with all 36,000 plus Cubs fans. We got to eat ballgame food, cheer on the team, and even sing the seventh inning stretch song! Holy cow was it a fun night!
Look at that amazing sunset over the park!
We were living the dream.
After the Cubs pulled into the lead in the top of the 9th inning we thought we had better leave early to miss the crowds on the L. We didn't miss the crowds so much but we were able to get on and then get back to our hotel without too much trouble.
What an amazing day in the Windy City!
