We left bright and early on Saturday and made a quick stop a Sbux. Let's just be honest, we had several stops there throughout the trip!! Matt is so good to me. We got in (with the time change) around 10am, checked into our hotel and headed out. Our hotel was INCREDIBLE. Matt hooked us up with a room on the 25th floor to ensure a picturesque view. Here were a few pictures of our place:
The view at night was even MORE gorgeous. We would slightly crack the windows and leave the curtains open. We loved falling asleep to the sounds of the city while gazing at the lights.
We packed our days full of fun. Our first day started with lunch at Dick's Last Resort. It was a fun/crazy burger joint that overlooked the Chicago River. They are famous for the "big a$$ burger." After lunch we headed down to the lake and of course, the bean. If you ever travel to Chicago, I recommend stopping by the bean to see this glorious and LARGE piece of art. It's a big bean-shaped mirror. Doesn't sound too exciting but I assure you quite the contrary. After snapping several photos we headed to both Millennium and Grant Park. Walking around Chicago is one of my favorites. In total, we estimated walking roughly 8 miles and boy am I glad I wore my comfy shoes that day!! Before dinner, we grabbed a quick snack at Garrett's popcorn to indulge in the buttery sweet goodness that is "The Chicago Mix." A giant bag of cheese and carmel popcorn. The evening ended with a staple, Giordanos. True Chicago-style, deep dish pizza. Talk about DELICIOUS. Here were few pictures to capture the day:
The next day we got to truly experience the "Windy City." All the more perfect to visit the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower). The tower opened at 10am and we were there. Of course, we thought we'd be the only genius couple to get there that early...wrong!! HAHA. We waited in line for over 2 hours but enjoyed every minute of it. We headed to the top (103 stories mind you) and were able to see out so incredibly far. You could sometimes feel the building swaying in the wind. A newer addition to the Willis Tower are the 4 glass walk-outs. This allows you to step out onto glass and look 103 stories below you. Talk about SCARRRRRY!! This is not for the faint of heart.
The evening ended at the famous Ed Debevics. This restaurant was recommended to us and we are so glad we went! This 50s style diner is famous for their "rude servers." Everyone is decked out in 50s garb and specialize in being rude to their guests. In addition to the rudeness, they also randomly break out into dancing. "At the car wash..." was the dance song of the night and we were cracking up!! As our waiter greeted us, Matt and I hid our camera and captured a fantastic video. Our servers name was Rusty and here is a sneak peek:
The next day was our 1 year anniversary. We started the morning out right by SLEEPING IN!! Sometimes you just need to relax. We headed out in the early afternoon and hit-up the Magnificent Mile. This is a glorious 1-mile stretch of nothing but SHOPPING. Some of our highlighted stores were Burberry, Nike, Hershey and the Disney Store. The Disney Store was dangerous now that we have a child. I was ready to buy the entire place. I even said, "Matt get me out of here." We hopped on a bus to head down to Navy Pier. When we got on the bus, we didn't have a prepaid ticket so we asked if we could pay cash. The driver said yes but it wouldn't dispense any change. We only had a $20 and the bus ride was only $5 for both of us. We stood there for a second and the bus door closed with us standing on it. I nearly panicked and looked at the bus driver only to find him saying, "It's fine...just go ahead and sit down." That's right, we rode the bus for free. I didn't expect so much kindness from a big city. How cool huh?
Once at Navy Pier we shopped, walked around the entire lake view and took a romantic Ferris Wheel ride. It allowed us to see a view of the entire city from the edge of the water. We topped the evening off at Fogo De Chao. I have only been to this restaurant once and it was several years ago. We wined and dined and had a blast being treated like royalty. Once the manager found out it was our anniversary, he brought out a special dessert. We had a blast and will DEFINITELY be traveling back in the future.
