Chicago

The hubbs and I took an anniversary trip to Chicago this week.  Traveling during the middle of the week is genius, if I do say so myself. 

 We stayed at Hotel 71 downtown - this was the view from our hotel room.

 Pretty sweet, eh?  Don't mind the spots on the pictures - it was raining.  We walked a bajillion miles the day it rained...umbrellas are also genius.  Whoda thunk?

We used the Yelp app on my iPhone to find places to eat.  The first morning we found this little gem hidden inside the Pittsfield building.

 If you didn't know it was in the building, you would absolutely never have found it.  Zero signage on the outsides of the gigantron building.  Probably trying to keep non-locals out.  Nice try!

I had a spinach/mushroom/tomato omlette.  Tasty.

 Wilberforce was completely obsessed with eating Chicago style pizza.  We ate at Lou Malnati's the first day, and at Uno's the last day.  Wilberforce was happy.

This is Lou's deep dish pizza.  Also tasty.

 This was our dining tactic during the trip: Will orders tasty unhealthy food, Manda orders a salad and steals off of Will's plate.

We wanted to go to the John Hancock Observatory, but it was $15 per person to make the trip.  A friend had told me there is a lounge up on the 96th floor that is free - you just have to buy an overpriced drink while you're there.

This Diet Coke, while visually appealing, was not worth the $5 price tag at the lounge.

 This blueberry parfait glass of goodness, was absolutely worth the $8.75 price tag.

 This view was completely worth the $24 we spent at the lounge.  Still cheaper than going up another four floors to the observatory, and really, when you're up that high do the three floors in between really make a difference?  Plus we got a snack!

Morning number two:  the Bongo Room.  Over a mile walk from the hotel.  We don't need no stinking buses.  We don't need no stinking trains.

 We need to walk off our breakfast!

Ps...those were pancakes covered in frosting-ish syrup deliciousness.

That was Wilberforce's breakfast.  This was mine.

 Seriously though - the best fruit plate in all of Chicago, hands down.

I may or may not have stole a few bites of these pancakes.  And they may or may not have been heavenly.

Morning number three: Walnut Pumpkin Bread french toast at Wildberry Cafe.  A two block walk from the hotel - we got smarter!  This picture isn't very appealing, but trust me, this french toast was ah. may. zing.

 If you couldn't tell, breakfast was the big meal of our days in Chicago.  We usually only ate two real meals every day - we made a few stops at Starbucks around the city for a drink and a fruit bowl to split in between meals.

Our third meal of every day was Sugar Bliss.

 Tasty, delicious, wonderful sugary bliss.

 This bakery was a couple four blocks from Hotel 71.  By the time we left Chicago, the ladies in the bakery recognized us.  I happen to think that is quite a feat in the great city of Chicago!  Maybe that's not a good thing, considering everything they sell at Sugar Bliss is full of...sugar.

 We went really crazy one night and got six mini cupcakes.  Strawberry cream, apple cinnamon, orange creme, vanilla, chocolate coconut, chocolate peanut butter...mmmmm....cupcakes.

 I'm glad we don't have a Sugar Bliss in Colorado.  I asked the ladies, just to be sure I would be safe from their cupcakes when I returned home.  The only Sugar Bliss in the world is on Wabash in Chicago - a thousand miles from home.

I'm tempted to find out if they ship cupcakes.  Don't do it. 




We went on an awesome boat tour on the river.

 The guide was super awesome, and even happened to know a thing or two about cameras.  He asked if we wanted him to take our picture, so I handed him my camera and explained that he would have to hold the shutter button halfway down to focus before snapping the picture (most people have 47 questions when I hand them my camera).  He smiles and says "oh, is that a 50mm on there?"  Well, well, well, what do we have here?  A tour guide with a photography hobby?

I have approximately 498 more pictures to post from Chicago, but we'll take a break for the night.

Happy Fall!