Chicago

In October we had a show in Chicago (see previous post). As I wrote, we were there for a very short period of time but the city left a huge impression on us. We were lucky enough to have a show in Iowa over the Thanksgiving weekend which left us the opportunity to spend a couple more days in this magnificent city. We stayed at the Westin River North which is extremely centrally located, and we put on our tourist hats and scoured the city. Below are the highlight photos from our trip. Enjoy...

Making a Starbucks run on Michigan St before heading out for the day

With our limited time, we decided to take a double decker bus tour through the city. Best idea! Not only did we get to see everything, we got to see it with no obstructions! I highly recommend taking in a city this way. Of course, since it was late November and cold, we were the only people sitting on the upper level.

This is the Presbyterian church on Michigan. It was featured in the movie 'My Best Friend's Wedding.' Beautiful old architecture in the mix of the high rise buildings.

This is the Wrigley Building. Note the walkway in between the two buildings. So cool!


Another view of the Wrigley Building

A view of the city. The building in the middle is the Hard Rock Hotel. The top of the hotel is gold (they call it the champagne bottle) and just stunning. It was originally the Carbine & Carbon Building.

Jeff at the front of the bus. Seriously, the best tour...look at our view!

As I said, we were the only wacky people who sat up top in the freezing cold!

Jeff's favorite building in the city...the Chicago Tribune. The interior is amazing as well.

Part of the Michigan bridge

The Navy Pier! Okay, so we would probably enjoy this more during the warm months of the year, but at least we didn't have to deal with crowds!

Another view of the Navy Pier. The ferris wheel in the background is a replica of the first ferris wheel created (an original Chicago invention).

On the bus again! One person joined us up top for a total of 2 minutes.

Pretty!

My free sample of the famous Garrett's popcorn. Seriously tasty!!

The famous Chicago sports announcer, Harry Caray, has a few restaurants around the city. Lots of cool memorabilia inside.

Another picture of the Navy Pier!

One of the best view of the city!

We traveled 100 stories up the John Hancock building as we were told it was the best view in town. This was absolutely true! A must do if you are in the city. Here is a view from above.

I picked up a second job washing windows.

Made famous by SNL, we ate at Billy Goat's tavern. Cheezborger, Cheezborger, Cheezborger!

Jeff had....you guessed it...the cheeseburger. I had a ham sandwich with a fried egg on top. SO GOOD.

YUMMMM!

One of our favorite activities of our trip was going to see a show at Second City. For those of you unfamiliar with this theater, it is a comedy group that has launched many of Saturday Night Live's most talented performers. The show was outstanding. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard. Worth the trip in itself.

At the pub across from Second City after the show.

Half price bottles of wine!

We finished our stay by taking a trip to the Art Institute of Chicago. What a stunning art gallery! It reminded me of the Parisian museums. This is the set of stairs that goes up to the exhibits.

The farmer and his wife. American Gothic.

This painting is...so...choice.

We have officially decided that Chicago is our third favorite city in the country: 1) Seattle 2) Boston 3) Chicago. We had a fantastic time in the windy city and can't wait to go back!