Since this blog has become a bit of a travelogue and essentially my scrapbook, I need to catch up on my Travels Past.

You see, last fall, we met up with our Aussie Mum & Dad in Chicago. It had been 13 years since Jen and Kim had seem them since the New Year’s Eve we met them in New Orleans.

So we booked a little weekend jaunt to Chi-Town to meet up with Barb and Tony while they were in The States!

Okay, so we brought Rob, too. 😉

We arrived before the Aussies that weekend, so we got in a bunch of sight-seeing including visiting the Art Institute of Chicago. It had been years since I’d been there and it’s been touted as one of the best in the world. Now I remember why! Even Rob, who really wasn’t up for going, was pleasantly surprised how much he enjoyed it. Of course, I always love the Impressionism and the Chagall windows. But when Rob and I got off track for a moment, we stumbled upon a wing that seemed we had all to ourselves – one with swords that date back to medieval and renaissance times.  It was thrilling imagining these weapons being used and noticing the differences between those that were 100 years apart.

Pro Tip for the Chicago Art Institute: Buy tickets in advance online and save yourself waiting in line. {Thanks,Kim!}

Afterward, we made our way over to The Bean {officially known as Cloud Gate} because Jen hadn’t been there before.

The Bean is a sculpture located in Millenium Park built between 2004 and 2006.

I officially became one of the countless people to have an unoriginal photo taken like this:

And we all had a little selfie fun.

We did a few other things before we met up with Mum & Dad, like…

…Walking the city, passing the House of Blues and such…

…Getting our fries on at Rob’s fave: Pops for Champagne…

…Taking an Untouchable Gangster Tour of Chicago…

I’d say the tour was good, but not great. St. Paul does one that’s a hell of a lot better! The audio equipment in the bus kept cutting in and out, too. You could tell the guide was used to it and that he does these over and over and over again… But we did get to see a lot more of Chicago that we would not have no foot! And a local off the street sketched us before hand…

Yes, Rob paid the man after he sneakily started sketching while chatting with us before the tour, giving the impression that he was part of the company. Though the sketch is not too shabby!

The girls and I went to a Second City comedy show, while Rob was on his own to watch Michigan State beat his Wolverines at the final second. {Sorry, Rob. Too soon?}

I took ^^ that photo in case any of these people become famous. We pretty much were in the front row and they were extremely talented and funny.

And amidst Chicago Bear country, you can actually find a Packer Bar to watch the game! {Sorry Vikings fans, the Bears are our real rivals!}

That’s where we were when Mum & Dad joined us!

We celebrated our win with dinner somewhere that I can’t even remember because it was really hard to get a seat for dinner right away with six people! But in the end, the food was excellent and the wine was flowing.

We also enjoyed an Architectural Tour via boat.

That ^^ panaroma iPhone pic really makes the boat look like it was long!

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It was chilly in the Windy City, but other than that, a gorgeous day. I’m always underwhelmed by Navy Pier, but the walk and views from it are certainly beautiful.

But you will never catch me up at the Sky Deck of Sears Willis Tower.

The pictures that other people post of themselves in a glass box with a see-through floor stories and stories above the city make me sick just looking at them. In fact, my hands are getting sweaty just thinking about this while I type.

We also had to have some Chicago Deep Dish Pizza. We chose Giordiano’s just because we happened to be walking by when it was lunchtime.

I still don’t see what all the fuss is about. It’s good, but not earth-shattering… And it is So. Much. Food. I know there are better places to try this style pizza throughout the city, many that were recommended. They just weren’t convenient at the time. {We now have a Giordano’s in the Twin Cities, too.}

~

But the real reason we were there was to meet up with old friends. And it was a joyous time! Kim made a pact with Barb and Tony to make a trip to Australia with us in 2017… Although we may push that back to 2018 so that Jen can join us! {Start saving now, girls!}

Rob and I are taking another trip to Chicago this year for our anniversary.

We found flights for $39 each way and thought spending a couple of nights exploring would be fun. We plan to go to the Shedd Aquarium this time, as well as make a few other stops. We have some recommended restaurants we’ll try to hit.

Oh! And we must find a cronut! We had our first one in Arizona {which I forgot to mention, if only because it was at a Dunkin’ Donuts}. I am both sad and glad that they are not readily available in the Twin Cities. {The only place that I can tell that makes them is at Angel Food Bakery in downtown Minneapolis.}

We only have a short little weekend, but we are open to suggestions on more to do, see, and eat!

We won’t be going to see to the Art Institute this time around, despite Van Gogh’s Bedrooms on exhibit, because $29 per person is a bit steep when we traversed the entire museum just six months ago. But if we could have only secured this Airbnb for our stay. Now that’s clever a work of art!

Please put your favorite things to do in Chicago in the comments!

Cheers~
Carrie