I love Chicago. I’ve been there several times, so it was no surprise that when my husband asked if I’d like to accompany him on a business trip that I said “YES.”
DAY ONE (10/13): We arrived on Thursday evening and after dropping our bags at the J.W. Marriott went to The Berghoff for a beer since it was just a tad early for dinner. While we were sitting at the bar we saw several people chowing down on a giant pretzel. It looked amazing and we would have gotten one if we weren’t already looking forward to having sushi at one of our favorite places. We didn’t want to take the chance that we’d give in so walked over the Ara On a little early and were surprised there was plenty of seating. As usual, we gorged ourselves on too much food, but forgave our gluttony because we ate a light lunch and didn’t get the pretzel. The young girls working at the sushi bar were both from Serbia, which we found interesting and tried to engage them in conversation about what’s happening over there, but they weren’t interested. We finished up our dinner and retired to our room for an early night.
DAY TWO (10/14): When we travel we try to keep up with our work out routine, especially since we like to eat like locals wherever we travel. We hit the gym first thing so I could get my scheduled run in and Lou burned some calories on the elliptical and lifted some weights. We took our sweaty selves to a concierge level breakfast where we dined lightly before going back to the room to shower up for our adventure of the day: an Untouchable Tour. I had reserved this tour several days before our trip and was really looking forward to getting some inside information on what it was like during prohibition and the mafia’s influence on the city. The tour was just under two hours on a black bus that holds about 30 people. We had a driver and a tour guide who took turns telling us in deep Chicago accents stories of the time and people. They drove us around to the various sites where infamous events took place. Its too bad that so many of them are no longer standing, but there’s still a bullet hole mark at the Holy Name Cathedral. Apparently its popular for newlyweds married at the church to pose next to and point at the mark in the wall. After the tour we decided to grab lunch before doing some more walking (it was a one mile walk from the hotel). There were several good lunch candidates in the area but we wanted to have a draft beer with our food so decided to take a chance on an Irish pub: the Kerryman. I was a little nervous about it because Irish pubs aren’t known for having healthy dining options, but one look at the menu put my mind at ease. There were plenty of healthy dishes. Lou decided he wanted a corned beef sandwich and I was about to make my selection when the bartender described to me in mouth watering detail the special of the day: Irish Stew. That’s what I decided to get and let me tell you … it was spectacular. I would eat that dish over and over again. It wasn’t overly filling, so I left feeling quite satisfied rather than uncomfortably full. Still. We needed to walk off our heavier than usual lunch so decided to walk up to the Old Town Triangle then cut over to the waterfront before heading back to the hotel. It was about a mile to the waterfront and then another 4.5 miles back to the hotel. We were going to walk as long as we could before leaving the waterfront to hail a taxi. During our walk we watched a group of 10 bridesmaids pile out of a limo bus, take off their shoes, then walk across the beach for a photo shoot. There must have been some drama with the bride because she was nowhere to be seen and a couple of the girls were heard sounding not very sympathetic to whatever her plight was. As we rounded the bend off the Oak Street Beach we saw what looked like a ball floating several hundred feet off the beach. I asked Lou if it was a buoy, because I was sure hoping it wasn’t a person. It turned out to be a person swimming out there. I thought maybe he was wearing a wetsuit. We sat and watched as he made his way back to the dock and climb out on a ladder. He wasn’t wearing a wetsuit. He was out there with no flotation device and no wetsuit on a 60 something degree day. As I said to Lou, “I may be crazy, but I’m not swimming-in-Lake-Michigan-without-a-wetsuit-in-October crazy.” Shortly after that bit of entertainment we made our way over to Michigan Avenue and hailed a cab back to Exchequer for a beer. Our feet were beat. We sat at the bar for a little while then decided to walk the rest of the way back to the hotel. One the way we passed by the clothing store that outfitted me last year after the hotel gave away our luggage. We stopped in and went for a little shopping spree. The folks there are awesome. I wish there was a similar place near where we live because I need a stylist in my life. Plus, the place is quite affordable. I got two blouses, a shawl, a jumpsuit, and a pair of boots for $312. After the long day we had we were ready to chow down on some really good Italian food. Not wanting to walk too much further Lou found a place called the Italian Village which was very close to the hotel. Its a three story Italian restaurant which serves different kinds of Italian food on each of the floors. We decided to minimize our walking by sticking with the lounge area on the first floor. The bartenders (Tom and Robert) have been there for almost 30 years, so that tells you something about the place. This wasn’t just a job for them. It was both a career and home. The pasta was fresh made and the bread was baked to perfection. Truly an experience. We may end up going back there another night and trying a different floor. Turns out. We went back the next night and ate on the 2nd floor. The first was better.
DAY THREE (10/15): Lou had some work to do so after breakfast we came back to the room and while he did his work I figured out what we were going to do that day and caught up on social media. When he was ready we went to the gym then showered up for our afternoon, which I decided was going to be spent at the Chicago History Museum. But first, because it had been so long since breakfast, we went back to the place with the giant pretzels and shared one and a salad. The pretzel was just as delicious as it looked. I may have to go back one of these days while Lou is in meetings. After our late lunch we caught a taxi to the Museum. The cab driver wasn’t friendly AT ALL. Never said a word to us the whole time except to tell us how much we owed him for the ride. No wonder Uber and Lyft are taking over. Since the Museum was going to close at 4:30 we had to decide what it was important to see. Lou wanted to see the exhibits specifically about the history of Chicago and I wanted to see the Freedom and Lincoln exhibits. Thanks to the audio sets we checked out we were able to listen to the guide as we walked around the exhibits. We finished up with just 15 minutes to spare then tried to book an Uber ride which the app said was only three minutes away. Unfortunately the app kept hanging up and the Museum was closing so we walked outside to figure out where to go to catch a cab. Lo and behold one pulled up just seconds after we stepped outside. It seemed a little early for dinner but we were both quite hungry so we had the cab drop us off at Exchequer where we shared a salad and a small deep dish pizza. Lou ate all three of his pieces while I held back one piece for lunch the next day. Turns out our room has one of those fridges that’s fully stocked with expensive hotel snacks. If you move any of them you’re automatically charged for the item. Sadly, I left it on the floor outside the room so housekeeping could take it away.
DAYS FOUR (10/16) THROUGH SEVEN (10/19): Lou’s meeting started on Sunday morning. Each morning he would wake up early to get a little exercise and then I would join him at the concierge lounge for breakfast. After he left for his meetings I would proceed to the gym for a long workout which included varying combinations of weights, running, biking, and elliptical. I had a lot of email and writing catching up to do so ended up spending the most of my free days in our room. Our evenings weren’t entirely free except for the last night, when we walked to a Greek restaurant to round out our gastro-adventures for the week, which you can see from the list below included Asian, German, Irish, British, Italian, and Latin. When we got back to the hotel that night we went up to the concierge lounge for a night cap where we met a lovely older couple who, it turns out, live just one town over from us.
Where we stayed:
J.W. Marriott Chicago
Where we Supped:
Ara On
The Berghoff
The Kerryman
Exchequer (twice!)
Italian Village (twice!)
Tanta
Greek Islands
Where we Sipped:
Elephant & Castle
What we Did:
Untouchables Tour
Lakefront Trail
Chicago History Museum
Where we shopped:
Akira
Books-A-Million