A weekend in the Windy City
As an I-just-quit-my-job celebration trip, I decided to go live it up in the Windy City: also see Chi-town, but otherwise known as Chicago!
How I got there
American Airlines had direct flights from Raleigh to O’hare. I left Friday afternoon and got back Sunday. If you follow me in instagram, you also saw on my stories that I almost missed my flight and had a world record sprint from the train station to the gate lol 😅. The flight in total was about 1 hour and 37 minutes. Total cost ~$333
Where I stayed
I have to admit I had a great place to stay for free because I crashed at my cousins’ who lives in the Gold Coast neighborhood. This area was perfect because it was about 30 minutes walk south to hit the river but also was right behind a stop on the red line, which goes vertical through the central part of Chicago, down to the loop. Total cost 2 nights $0
How I got around
Chicago is a city that is VERY easy to get around using public transportation. When I landed at the O’Hare airport, I bought a CTA ticket for $15 which gave me access to all trains and buses around the Chicago area for three days. It took me about an hour on the blue line to get from O’Hare to central downtown Chicago.
If you don’t feel like cramming into a train or bus with Covid, you can take their local version of Lyft/Uber which is called Curb. I noticed Curb rates were half the price of Lyft, so it will save you a lot!
What I did
I had a very ambitious list of things I wanted to see and do over the weekend in Chicago. Not knowing much about the city though, I now realize it is huge and takes a while to get from place to place. So this trip I tackled mostly the river and central downtown Chicago items. This included:
A 90 minute architecture tour along the river. I highly recommend the tour I took with Wendella. Tours cost $40 and you can choose your time. I suggest morning times for a less crowded boat and to sit on the right side for the best views! $40
Millennium Park/Grant Park. There is so much more to Millennium park than just the bean. Grant park is where lollapalooza is held every year, and there are some great water fountains and landscape to explore in the area. FREE
Cloud gate. Or as it’s famously known, the bean. As much as this structure is iconic to Chicago, I feel like it’s one of those things like once you’ve seen it you don’t need to see it again. As a first timer, I obviously had to go see it, but now that I have I don’t think it’s some thing I would go back and do it again unless I was getting a cool photo without the crowds. FREE
What I ate
There is a plethora of great food to try in Chicago! Unfortunately, I did not get to enjoy as much of it as I wanted to because I had a little bit too much to drink Friday night and ended up hung over most of the day Saturday. 🙃 What I was able to keep down was amazing though!
Tiny Tapp. This is a great spot along the river to grab a happy hour drink before heading off to dinner. Good vibes all around. $$
Stan’s donuts. This local donut chain can be found on in multiple neighborhoods downtown. I got the chocolate frosted old fashion cake doughnut which was incredible. I actually shed a tear when half of it fell out of my hand and onto the boat dock. $
Formento’s. This was where I went for dinner Saturday night with an old college friend. It’s a great Italian restaurant on the classier side located in the West Loop. Dinner prices are very reasonable though, for example my spaghetti carbonara was $23 and had a beautiful presentation! $$
Beatrix. This was my Sunday brunch spot where I met up with a former teammate from my pro cheerleading days. I only realized after I scarfed down my delicious iced oat milk mocha and bacon & egg brioche sandwich that I took ZERO photos. So you’ll just have to believe me when I say it was dang delicious.$$
$ = less than $20 $$ = 20-35 dollars
What I wish I did
Like I mentioned, I had a very extensive list of things I wanted to do in the city and not enough time! Here just a couple of ideas I have for the next time I go visit:
IO Godfrey for rooftop drinks
Exploring Wrigleyville & go to a cubs game!
Walk more of the Magnificent mile
Garfield park conservatory
360 chicago observatory
Espresso martini flights at Starbucks Reserve
Brunch at Goddess & the Baker
Museum of contemporary art
Machacita
Green Mill
Eat some deep dish pizza from Giordano’s
Art on the mart- a night light installation over the old merchant building
Adler planetarium
Hampton social for brunch
Sunset drinks at London house rooftop
Even though it was a very short trip, I feel like I got a good feel of the city while also seeing lot’s of old friends! Hopefully some of this information will help you the next time you are planning a visit to the Chicago.
Sincerely,
Sarah
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