I had just come back from a 10 day break from work when my friend, Marcella, who now lives in San Francisco called me to see if I wanted to do a little mini trip for her 40th birthday.  My immediate response was I couldn’t possibly, what with work and recent time off, and then all of a sudden we booked a trip to meet in the middle, which we decided would be Chicago. 

Well, why not I have lots of vacation time, plenty of air miles and points and I did need to welcome her to the fabulous 40s.  I was trying not to think about the huge amounts of work piling up on my desk.  I am actually still in deep denial.

While I have been to Chicago many times, it has always been for work so my free time was usually in the evening where if I wasn’t working in my hotel room, it would exploring the fantastic culinary world that Chicago has to offer.

This time, as my friend had never been before we decided to explore Chicago as true tourists.  An architectural boat tour, a trip to Millennium Park, a day at Wrigley Field with free tickets we scored for a Cubs game from the bartender at the Park Grill restaurant in Millennium Park, a leisurely and spectacular walk through the Art Institute of Chicago and of course nothing beats walking your little feet off to explore the city.  Of course, I did the food scene and there will be a couple of reviews to follow of The Tasting Room and RL Restaurant.  Both worthy of a visit if you are ever going.

I have always known Chicago is a city with an amazing architectural history and is famous for its museums but nothing could be prepare me for how extraordinary my trip was going to be with breathtaking skyscrapers, old and new side by side and sculptures and art work that literally blew my mind. 

I am by no means an artist or a good photographer, not even by a long shot.  I don’t have an artist’s eye but I do recognize beauty when I see it and I hope I have managed to portray what I experienced during my long weekend, in particular the architectural boat tour, in this little photographic montage.

Chicago is such a great city to visit and I know there is so much more I need to do beyond eating and drinking, which of course will not stop me, but I will be back and I will see more of what this fantastic city has to offer.