On my recent trip to Spain, I was sorely reminded of how long it had been since I'd seen my favorite American-Spaniard, Saritah. Too long. The last place I'd seen her was the bus station in León, Spain. The only places I'd ever seen her were in Europe. So, when she called to tell me that she had a work training "close" to me, there was no way I wasn't going. By "close" she meant Chicago, which, in all fairness, is oh so much closer than Oregon. And here we go...
Buckingham Fountain, so close to downtown. Honestly, we stumbled upon it on our walk through the park. Though notable, it was neither the most impressive nor the strangest thing we found that day.
This was the most impressive. Cloud gate...aka "The Bean". It's adorable and incredibly photogenic. Can an object even be considered photogenic? Well this one is. It reflects the buildings, the park, the people, and the clouds. It felt like a little adult playground. We, admittedly, spent a significant amount of time waving into the bean trying to find our disproportionate reflections.
And this...this was the strangest. Tower-fountains with water splashing down and around all the sides pooling into a central square. Babies and toddlers flopped around in the water while we stood here waiting for the faces on the screens to change. The man would occasionaly blink or smile creepily. Luckily, we waited long enough to find him purse his lips for this stream of water to come pouring out. So bizarre. And yet, so intriguing.
We took recommendations of friends and ended up at Navy Pier. We joined quite a crowd on the Ferris Wheel and had the very slowest and least adrenaline-inducing ride ever. The view was great, but no better than the other 2 that we paid an extortionate amount for.
On the plus side, the ride lasted long enough that by the time we had finished, this gem of a food truck had opened it's doors. Please feast your eyes upon the Crave Bar and prepare for extreme food lust:
You can choose from milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and cappuccino. NOM. They should really consider hiring me to be their rep.
We took a small break from stuffing our faces with ridiculously innovative and delightful Chicagoan treats to take an elevator to the top of the John Hancock building. These little windows are a new mini-thriller called the Tilt. Up on the 94th floor the tilt sure felt like a lot more than 30 degrees.
The beach from the top of the Hancock building, and also, some of the only sun we saw our entire visit.
Almost convincing, isn't it? Or not at all. Regardless, we were robbed in exchange for this photo and a couple other 8X10s. But wouldn't you have felt the need to, as well?
The infamous "cages" that hang over Chicago. We're adorable.
Back to the food. Because, in reality, that is all we had planned to "do" (more like "eat") while in this lovely city. This made the list: Chocolate Cake Shake at Portillo's. At this point, we had already eaten dinner and only walked off about 4 blocks worth of calories, therefore not even earning a single bite of this shake...but if not then, when? Necessary. They literally made a huge and deliciously moist chocolate cake with layers of chocolate frosting, chopped it up real small and dropped it into this shake. I have never been so unhappy to eat something so amazing. Every bite hurt...but I still think it was worth it. Incredible.
Some of my very favorite girls and I in Old Town. Our wonderful hostess and tour guide...so fun to get all three of us together on a different continent this time. The last we were all together was a whirwind trip to Barcelona and Paris. Interesting how life brings people apart and back together in waves.
As if waffle heaven wasn't enough to get a girl out of bed early on a Sunday morning, chalkboard tables certainly are. Here's a little of our artwork: an ode to our Chicago weekend. Sarah said she could tell by my drawings that I am a Kindergarten teacher. I'm fairly certain that is not a compliment to my art skills.
Waffle-egg sandwiches, and waffles+donuts=wonuts. Wonuts, starting top left, and for your drooling pleasure: Oreo, banana chocolate chip, old-fashioned, birthday cake, turtle, and red velvet. I wanted a full dozen, but was denied! Shame. They were gone the minute I landed back in Rochester. At least it made for a very happy welcome-home crowd.
A different day, a different treat. What's better than a bakery late-night homemade cupcakes? A bakery with just that AND big-people swings.
Pure joy.
A small sampling of some of the other delicacies that have not yet been hilighted. Garrett's Chicago Mix popcorn, cinnamon rolls, deep dish pizza, and Chicago-dogs.
If there is anything that the two of us are great at, it's exploring and eating our way through new cities. I can confidently say that we accomplished this task in Chicago, and that I hope it doesn't take another 3 years before we get to have another similar adventure.
