A Summer Weekend in Chicago
I haven't visited Chicago since before the pandemic, but my mom was in town and thought it would be fun to spend the weekend there. My boyfriend and I spent a Saturday-Tuesday, while my mom was there midday Sunday and left Tuesday morning. This is not a post of the trendiest restaurants or the best nightlife, but I thought I would share our itinerary in the hopes that it inspires you.
Hotel: Palmer House
This hotel is the most gorgeous. The outside has these gorgeous lights and there is a mural that spans the entire ceiling of the lobby. The rooms are not the fanciest, it is an older historic hotel, but they are nice and clean. The hotel is in a prime location across from Millenium park (or as my mother says, "millenial park") however, the L runs close to the hotel and from the room we were in we could hear it. It wasn't super loud by any means, but definitely audible. The hotel also has a bar in the lobby, which is the perfect spot to hang out and enjoy the ambiance even if you aren't staying there.
Brunch: Goddess and the Baker
We went to two separate locations and had breakfast there on three separate mornings. It was just that good. They have a wide variety of pastries (get the almond croissant), but also hot breakfast items. My mom had the avocado toast and said it was good and my boyfriend got the morning sandwich, which was incredible. The drinks are also really nice and they have a wide selection of tea, coffee, and non caffeinated beverages to consume.
Pizza: Gino's East
There are so many places to get deep dish pizza. I've gotten Giordano's before and liked it, but Gino's east was close to the hotel and my boyfriend raved about it. We split a small supreme pizza and a antipasto salad between the three of us and it was the perfect amount of food.
Other food thoughts:
My boyfriend and I got our first Chicago dog and we did not like it! I thought that it tasted great, but was a little wet. I also could have skipped the tomato as it really didn't add anything to it. My boyfriend was confused by the neon relish and also thought that it was overstuffed.
Architecture Boat Tour:
The last time I was in Chicago I had done a boat tour, but I don't remember the company that I used. This time we did the Chicago Architecture Society tour and it was excellent. There was a bar in and air conditioning in the bottom of the boat and on the deck a volunteer from the Architecture Society talked us thorough the buildings. Our guide was excellent and so well informed that it made the experience great. It's not the cheapest activity, but the tour was 90 minutes and so worth it!
Museums:
We went to two museums this trip. The first was the Art Institute, which was so large! The building is deceptively large because you enter in the front, but the building is really deep so there are a lot of rooms. We spent upwards of two hours in there and still didn't see everything. The second was the Field Museum. This was so cool because of the variety of exhibits. We did not have a lot of time to spend there, so we hit the fossils and dinosaurs, but it was so interesting and the nicest natural history museum I've been to.
Coldplay Concert:
The real event of the weekend was going to the second night of the Music of the Spheres tour. I'm not a huge Coldplay fan, but I knew enough songs that I thought it would be a fun night out. The tour was absolutely incredible. The lights, the special effects, the fireworks. Truly the highlight of the trip and maybe the best live music event I've been to.
So that's a quick recap of my long weekend in Chicago! Let me know if you've been to Chicago and what your must dos and must eats are when you're in the city.
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