Where in the World Wednesday: Chicago, Il

CHICAGO!!!!! Finally I am able to check this city off my bucket list of all-time great US cities and to say it didn’t disappoint might be one of the biggest understatements I’ve made to date. It was absolutely all I thought it ever could be and then some. The architecture, the food, the people and just the overall “vibe” in the air was INCREDIBLE….I think electric might even be closer to the right word. On top of how amazing the city was, I had an incredible partner with whom I was paired up for the week that was equally enthusiastic about the city and all it had to offer…. MJ, it’s already been too long!

For starters, the hotel at which I stayed was in a historic part of the city called Printer’s Row. This area of town was made famous for, you guessed it, newspaper printing. Although much of the area has now been retrofitted for hotels, restaurants and shops, there were still so many remnants of days gone by. Even the Starbucks on the corner got into the nostalgia as one entire walls in the coffee shop was a collage of old printing keys, alphanumeric, all shapes and sizes. Stunning….

The hotel itself was in a historic building, well, actually three historic buildings that were seamlessly blended together   My room was floor to ceiling windows overlooking an amazing building and the bustling street down below….

The highlight of my trip was FINALLY getting to go to a game on the road, and where else should it really have been than WRIGLEY FIELD?!?!?! We began the evening at the world famous Cubby Bear for a quick beer and then off we went into the park.  In addition to just being in shock and awe of being in such hallowed grounds, my escort for the evening scored us AMAZING seats…Can you say 10 rows directly behind home plate! ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!?!?

After the game, my wonderful host took me to an absolutely stunning bar that had once been a historic bank.  The lounge itself was inside of the old vault, complete with all the copper trimmings of the safety deposit boxes….about this time, I also hit a wrong button on the camera as is evidence by the fabulous blurry pic!

On the fourth night, my travel buddy and I took to the streets of this amazing town! We walked the main drag and got in all of the tourist “must dos”…. Buckingham Fountain, the Bean, the River….definitely going to do the architecture tour on the next go around! For dinner, what else but a little cheese & wine to start followed by some amazing deep dish and beer!

I have said it 100 times since I have been back from this amazing town…I could move there TOMORROW, well, except for that whole January Winter situation…. Just a couple more fun shots….