Adventures in Chicago | Part 1

So D and I are back from Chicago and we seriously had the best time! Thank you everyone for the recommendations -- I tried to hit up as many as I could, but since we were only there for such a short amount of time, we tried to make it count. First off, I have to say I LOVE CHICAGO. It's such a great city. As a New Jersean/New Yorker at heart, its really hard to compete with the city of all cities, but I have to say --- Chicago is like New York, but cleaner, cool architecture, and amazing food. We were lucky enough to have a tour guide with us for most of our trip (D's best friend has lived in Chicago for 5 years now, so he knows the best places to go) so it made it a lot easier for us. Even though we did run around the city like two little tourists with our cameras, I wouldn't have had it any other way!

 Chicago is known for its architecture, so we went on an architecture/Great Lake boat tour of the city. We learned a lot about it's rich history, the great fire and so much more. Love those "corn on the cob" buildings and the classic "Chicago Tribune" sign.

 Trump Tower seen above.

And with our "tour guide" - D's best friend Ryan.

 Our boat tour took us from the river that ran through downtown Chicago right onto Lake Michigan. It was really cool to have such a great view of the city skyline (I rank it #2 under NYC) but ummmmm, I forgot I was scared of boats. The rocking back and forth, the feeling that I can't escape if I wanted to. 

See my concerned face above.

And D wants to get me on a cruise ship......

 {loaded baked potato soup}

heavenly.

 and we're back safe on land.

 Went up to The Terrace at Trump Tower for a drink, and more importantly, some pretty incredible views of the city....

 We were so blessed to have such gorgeous weather....hello 75 and sunny!

hello, chi-town!

 And did I mention the food? I was happy with every single meal I had in Chicago (so was D) and coming from two food snobs, D in particular having very high standards for Italian food, and both of us living in NJ/NY being the hub of multicultural foods -- I was very impressed. 

 I finally got my Chicago deep dish pizza!

This thing was the BOMB, but it sat in my stomach like a brick. And I only had two pieces. As delicious as this was, it definitely wasn't NY style slices. More like a tomato and cheese quiche.

#werenotinnewyorkanymore

One nice thing about having a friend living in the city (aside from the company) is that you can veer off the path and do non-touristy things. So we ventured off to other neighborhoods in the city including Wicker Park and Old Town for dinner two nights. Had more amazing food (including sushi, a lobster roll for me, and some great seafood) and some vino. While walking down the street to the next stop, Ryan mentioned to us that abandoned bar seen above is the bar serial killer Jeffery Dahmer lured one of his victims in the early 90's. So scary. Apparently the bar closed down ever since that discovery was made and no on has ever wanted to buy the property. They now have plans to demolish the building....rightfully so.

And now after you have that creepy story in you're head, I'll leave you with a happy photo of D and I enjoying drinks at the fabulous Trump Tower:

Stay tuned for part 2 of our Chicago adventures....

Also just realized I accomplished #1 on my Summer Bucket List. Score!

xo Steph