Chicago, Day 2

We are having a snow day AGAIN.   This has already been one crazy winter this season!  I'm wondering if schools will be closed tomorrow since the snow is staying on the roads, and we are not supposed to get above freezing (high 17/low -1 today, high 14/low 3 tomorrow), and the wind chill is expected to be -20!!!  Did I bring Chicago home with me, or what?!

On our second day in Chicago, we had a yummy breakfast in the hotel and headed to Shedd Aquarium for the day. We got to see Sea Monsters (a 4-D experience), as well as the aquatic show with dolphins, penguins, and even a dog named Coral! I spent much of my time in the Amazon Rising, Oceanarium, and Polar Play Zone, but the highlight had to be the Jellies. Zach was pumped about seeing them, but I couldn't have cared less when we arrived. Out of curiosity--and the fact that we had the wristbands to get in--I decided to tour this area. I LOVED it. All of the different jellies were so interesting and mesmerizing, and I learned so much. I also captured some beautiful, haunting, and otherworldly images.

 largest fish caught in the Amazon

 4-D Sea Monsters Experience

 the aquatic show

view of Lake Michigan

After the aquarium, we changed hotels, moving to the Intercontinental on the Mag Mile. 

For dinner, we went to Andy's Jazz Club, where I had a delicious strawberry spinach salad and gin Big Ben cocktail, and we enjoyed some live music. 

On our way back to the hotel, we came across The Eataly! I'm not sure how to describe this place, other than it is an Italian foodie's mecca. It's like a shopping mall of Italian goodies, with separate stations for different types of goods. So there was a patisserie (I don't know what the Italian word for this French term is--probably something awfully close), a gelateria (that sounds good, huh?), a WHOLE Nutella shop, a wine "cellar," a cheese bar, a separate mozzarella bar, a deli, a pesca-ria (that sounds good, too), a bread section, a pasta section, etc. (I could have tried to Italianize my semi-French words for some of those other areas, but I gave up.) 

We ordered desserts and took them back to the hotel to enjoy. I ate mine and stayed up to finish Monsters of Men. A glorious time!

 We're part of the ambassadors program, so we got a fruit basket, mineral water, truffles, and a personal letter from the head of our hotel!

 I forgot what this was called, but it was like a mousse-type dessert!

Zach's was delicious as well!  :)

Chicago, Day 1

Because I'm lazy and not feeling too hot (thanks, cold!), I'm just going to post these without trying to make them align side-by-side.  My apologies.  :)

Saturday morning, we got up early and headed to the airport.  We narrowly made our plane because we got held up in security and were sad that it was a cash-only flight, but we made it!

 You could see where the snow had stopped!  I love that we can now use our phones on the plane.  :)

 Chicago!

Once we landed, we got our CTA passes and got on the train to head downtown to Hotel Indigo in the Gold Coast. We took a taxi from the train station to the hotel and checked in. It was fun watching of the train and taxi, and our hotel was adorable and trendy. I loved that they had Tootsie Rolls in the lobby and were so pet friendly!

 our view at Hotel Indigo--so cosmopolitan! *lol*

Then we grabbed lunch next door at The 3rd Coast. I had a delicious caprese sandwich, a salad, and a milk stout. 

Once our tummies were full, we took the train out to Michigan Avenue, exploring Water Tower Place for the most part. We hit up American Girl Place, the LEGO Store, and Macy's. 

 Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower)

 American Girl Place at Water Tower Place (my favorite!)

I love the "window" displays at AGP!  I would love to have the job to set those up.  It has long been my dream to work for American Girls.  ;)

 Cecile and Marie-Grace's holiday window display

 Molly's (so sad she was retired this year!)

 Rebecca's

 Julie's

 Kit's

 LEGO Willis Tower

Chicago skyline

 LEGO Santa Large-Fig (See what I did there?  The "people" are called mini-figs...but this guy was 'UGE!)

 Our friend Rob of Lifelites lit up THIS Iron Man!

 husby in his element

We planned to go to Giordano's for dinner. As usual, it was a l-o-n-g wait, so we explored some nearby stores during the wait (Nordstrom Rack, Anthropologie), and Beverly and I went to sit outside the Water Tower to people watch as it wasn't too cold and there were literally no other places to sit. We also popped into Hershey's and Ghiradelli's, where we got some free samples, and into some of the richy-rich stores. 

 the Water Tower

Because it was the Saturday between Christmas and New Year's AND it was so warm (for Chicago in winter), the streets and stores were bustling!

 Zach and his dad outside Nordstrom Rack

Once inside Giordano's, we had a half-pineapple, half-pepperoni pie with some drinks. Poor Zach ended up getting sick and taking a taxi back to the hotel while we finished up. He felt some better by the time I made it in, and while his sickness was disappointing, it was still a pretty good first day in Chicago.