Wow. I’ve literally been procrastinating about writing this Chicago post for over a month now.
This was G and I’s first trip to Chicago, so I figured I would share the things that Garrett and what we totally loved. I’m by no means a Chicago expert since this was my first trip, so if you are a native, please share in the comments what you totally love! This certainly won’t be my last trip there 🙂
Day 1:
We landed at O’Hare around 3 pm on our first day, so we immediately headed into the city to check into our first place. We stayed in this apartment (through HomeAway) on the Gold Coast and it was INCREDIBLE. The building was right next to Lake Michigan and it felt like I could walk to everything in town. Plus the whole building was themed after famous people. Ours was Al Capone themed which was pretty cool!
Naturally, we were starving, so we went ahead and found our first deep dish pizza place– Lou Malnati’s. This place was recommended to me by a native to Chicago while I was on the plane on my way to Chicago 🙂 It ended up being my favorite pizza place in town, plus their Malnati salad was BOMB. Highly recommend this place!
After we ate, we just started walking around and then decided to walk around because the weather was so perfect. I couldn’t get enough of this view!
Day 2:
On our second day, we checked out of our first place, and checked into the Talbott Hotel. We got a really good deal on this place, and it is a few steps away from the Magnificent Mile, so it was kind of fun to stay in two different places. We started walking around again, and really trying to stay warm (we understood why it was called the windy city that day)!
The number one thing that I recommend that you do in Chicago, is to do the architecture river boat cruise. Despite the fact that I was shaking from the blistering cold, I learned so much about the city’s history and architecture and saw buildings and things that I certainly never would have taken notice of, otherwise.
After the cruise, G and I spent some time at Navy Pier and rode the Centennial Wheel. Navy Pier was definitely a cute place to hang out. Plus you can get some Garrett’s Popcorn and just enjoy the views of the lake. 🙂
We also ate at Gino’s East this day. We got the harvest salad which I reallyyyyy liked, but I was less impressed by the deep dish pizza. I found it to be almost soggy– not great 🙁
Day 3:
We could have spent the ENTIRE day at the Art Institute of Chicago. That place is huge and there are some really incredible pieces. Unfortunately, American Gothic was not there when we went, but there was some plenty of other famous pieces!
Also fun fact: if you are wanting to go the Art Institute and also do some other museums, you can get a bundle price. You can also get a discount if you purchase centennial wheel tickets and art institute tickets together online!
After we spent a very large chunk of the afternoon there, we ate a late lunch at The Berghoff, which I really liked! We got some of their in-house beers, a GIANT soft pretzel, and split an Italian beef sandwich.
We took an Uber to the Goose Island brew house and had a couple of flights there, before we took the train to Wrigleyville to see our first Cubs game. It was such a great way to end our trip! We had a blast
TL;DR:
Lou Malnatti’s had far superior deep dish to Gino’s East.
If you like beer, go get a tour at Goose Island Brewery.
The Art Institute is incredible.
If you do one thing– do the architecture river boat cruise.
Cloud Gate: a.k.a. “The Bean” is overrated and crowded.
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