Nellie & Phoeb's

Design, Food, Kids, Laughter, Love...

Travel: The Windy City

Weekend Getaway to Chicago

 Troy had to travel to Chicago for some work training, so we extended his stay through the weekend for a much needed mini vacay with no kids! I flew on Friday afternoon, met him at the Hotel Palomar, where we had sat on the patio & had a cocktails, appetizers, & watched people walk by.
 
 
I give Hotel Palomar FIVE STARS! It's located downtown & there is so much to do within walking distance, plus the restaurant & bar were both phenomenal, the menu & the aesthetics!
We ended the evening having Thai food at a little place right across the street, the food was excellent & the menu prices ranged from $4-$10, can't beat that!
 

We got up Saturday morning, made coffee at the hotel & started our tourist adventure. We started at the infamous Bean, it really is stunning.



 
 The temperature dropped quite a bit from Friday to Saturday, good thing I packed a pair of skinnies! We walked through the sculptures in the park & made our way over to The Art Institute, where we waited in line for about 20 minutes while listening to a street musician.

 
I am so excited that I got to see work from some of the most influential & famous artists in history, including Manet, Monet, Van Gogh, & Pollack. To top it off, there were some 5th Century BC sculptures, the oldest artifacts I've ever seen in person.
 
The museum encourages people to take no flash photography, so here are some of the pieces we got to see:





 
Of course we had to squeeze in one Ferris Buller re-enactment:
 
After many suggestions & much debate, we selected Lou Malnati's for our first REAL Chicago pizza! Troy insisted on ordering sausage, because it was the most authentic, I don't like sausage... so I was not  that impressed. I am really a NY pizza kind of girl! But, Troy loved it, we can't all win all the time:)
 
On our way out of town on Sunday, our college buddy Jim, gave us a tour of the city, we went by The Magnificent Mile, Navy Pier, & Wrigley Field. We stopped at Wrigley, ran into a t-shirt shop & got the girls souvenir shirts, & snapped a pic in front of the game day crowd.
 
And, we couldn't leave without stuffing our faces one last time! Jim took us to Burger Bar where I had the Smokehouse stacker, a burger topped with house-smoked brisket, white cheddar, fried pickles, & country coleslaw, it was INSANE. Then, Troy & I shared the banana & Nutella shake, I'm not really a shake person, but I could have drank the whole thing! Two thumbs up Burger Bar!
 
We both really liked Chicago, it would have been a great place to live pre-kids! There is so much hustle & bustle, so many people, & so much energy. The city is covered in patio's, sidewalk landscaping, & really tall people!
 
Chicago, until we meet again, adios!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JZQE2RW/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00JZQE2RW&linkCode=as2&tag=nephs-20&linkId=T6EXAHBBFOIHD5QD

2 comments

  1. Love the pic of you in your sunnies and pink jeans. So cute!

    BTW, am missing you guys big time! Let's get together...soon!

    ReplyDelete