Chicago 2012!
- wanderer
- Oct 7, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 30, 2024
Our 1st ever girls trip started on a rainy note. And we realized the importance of weather and planning from day one!
To be honest, we had not planned much, the plan if any was to go to Chicago downtown via train from the suburb where my friend lived. And then do something, what we had no idea!
So we went ahead with our wonderful itinerary without consulting the weather gods (need to find a emoji)
Day 1
We reached the downtown without any incident but then it started pouring and we were so not prepared for that. (emoji) So, our 1st day started and ended within an hour, we were forced to come back home due to the rains.
I wont call it a complete waste though, we now knew how ill prepared we were for any trip. So, we spent the rest of the day researching different activities and places to visit in Chicago in a limited time of 1 day.
Day 2
Thankfully there was no rain on day 2.
We started early morning, took the train from Mississauga to Chicago downtown. Our 1st stop was the Willis Tower in downtown Chicago.
We did the tour of the Ledge, it’s an observation deck with a glass floor that offers great views of the city. Plus its a good place for a photo op! I recommend getting the tickets in advance since they have timed entry.
Since we had limited time, we decided to do a hop-on-hop-off tour of city, to get a feel of the place and to explore the areas we find interesting. It worked out perfectly for us since Willis tower was on the bus route and we were already there, also we didn't have to depend on cabs or on public transportation.
We just got down at the places we liked and got back on the next bus once we were done. The only thing to keep in mind are the bus timings.
As I had mentioned before, there was no rain but instead of that we had a 108F day! And yet again we were in a soup, a very hot soup. But we didn't give up this time, we braved the sun and sat on the top deck of the bus. In hindsight, it was a mistake. Both of us ended up with pretty bad sunburns the next day.
Anyways, the 1st place we decided to explore en route was the Millennium Park, home to the famous Chicago Bean (Cloud Gate).
The park itself is a nice place to walk around and chill. And since it was extremely hot and we really literally needed to chill and refuel, we decided to try out a restaurant right next to the Bean.
Park Grill at Millennium Park (http://places.singleplatform.com/park-cafe-6/menu?ref=google#menu_1825757)
It is a nice casual place to grab a quite bite and some nice drinks.
We both were so battered that without looking at the menu title properly we ordered, what we thought was lemonade. As soon as we had our 1st sip, we realized something was amiss, this lemonade was bitter. I think, you might have guessed where this is going ;)
We had ordered from the bar menu! and it was a Mojito. Our waiter was really sweet and offered us a free replacement. We don't have any thing against Mojitos, just that we both don't drink alcohol.
Our next stop on hop-on-hop-off was the Navy Pier. It is a very lively place with a variety of activities for all ages.
We strolled around for a bit, grabbed another quick bite and were on our way.
Our last stop for the day was Chicago Riverfront. We kept plenty of time for this part. We did the river front walk, which is lined with some fabulous restaurants and then did a Architecture river cruise.
Would highly recommend this tour, since it was full of insights and tidbits about the magnificent building all around Chicago.
And at last we were on our way back to the train station and back home, completely exhausted after a long but worthwhile day!
PS: I did get a chance to visit Chicago again and this time we went to see the Art institute. Its totally worth it!
