Long Weekend in Chicago
We set out Wednesday morning for our non-stop flight from Kansas City to Chicago for a long weekend of adventures with our friend Tyler. Our first stop once we arrived in Chicago was checking into our Airbnb. We found the perfect location right in the loop, about a five-minute walk to Millennium Park. It was a little pricier but it had two bedrooms and two bathrooms, so it’s perfect if you’re traveling with friends or family to have a little extra space. It also had free first come first serve luggage storage which was great as we had arrived well before the available check-in time. The next stop had to be coffee and snacks of course. A great coffee/bakery happened to be right next door and beneath our Airbnb called The Goddess and the Baker. We frequented here a couple of times due to how convenient it was.
After getting caffenated we set out to explore Millennium park. This is a fantastic park where you can view the iconic Chicago bean sculpture, wander through the Lurie Gardens and enjoy the many free events they offer. Since we visited in the summer, we got to see the beautiful wildflowers in Lurie gardens urban sanctuary. Another unique art piece in Millennium park is Crown Fountain. Artist Jaume Plensa’s video sculpture uses LEDs to display digital videos of faces of Chicago locals spouting water from their mouths. You can walk through the water and feel the spray coming from the sculpture. This is worth seeing while in the park. Maggie Daley park within Millenium park offers rock climbing walls, mini golf course, rollerblade paths and a playground. Millennium park is truly an amazing urban park.
After exploring millennium park it began to rain so we wanted to spend rainy afternoon in the Chicago Museum of Art. However, after arriving at the museum we found out that the museum was closed every Tuesday and Wednesday. So, we changed course and went a farther walk away to the Field Museum, Chicago’s natural history museum. On our walk to the museum we got caught in a downpour and took a while to dry out our soaked clothes and bags, all part of the adventure. The cost to enter the museum is about $30 per person, which seemed pricey but it was well worth it. It was a huge museum full of very interesting exhibits including Sue, which is one of the largest, most extensive, and best-preserved T-Rex specimens ever found. We spent hours at this museum and still did not see it all. We made the mistake of getting an afternoon coffee at the museum and not realizing that we had to drink it in the food hall. After ordering we discovered that the food hall closed in about 10 mins, so we had to chug our hot coffee. After the museum exploration, we headed for dinner at a fantastic Italian restaurant we found called Il Porcellino. Highly recommended if you want great Italian food in a cozy ambience.
Day two of our adventures, we started with coffee and then a walk to Navy Pier. We didn’t do any of the attractions at Navy Pier, but it’s a great spot to take in views of the Chicago skyline. We then backtracked to Magnificent Mile, which is a mile long stretch of upscale shops and restaurants. One of our favorite shops we came across is Eataly, which is a multi-story Italian market and eatery. If you’re a fan of Italian foods, this is the place for you. Our other favorite store we discovered was Colores Mexicanos, a Mexican gift shop. This store had many different clothing items, toys, and brightly painted wood figures of various animals. Most of the items came from Oaxaca Mexico and were hand made. After checking out various stores along the Magnificent Mile, we stopped for lunch at a unique brewery on the second floor of an AMC theater overlooking the bustling streets below. It was called Crushed by Giants and it had amazing food and drink selections and we would highly recommend it. For our afternoon coffee, we stopped at the Starbucks Reserve, which is a four story building with each level serving unique coffee creations.
We then set out to explore Chicago’s river walk, which is a 1.25 mile long path running right along the river where you can explore coffee shops, restaurants, wineries and bars. The river walk is also one of the starting points for many of the boat tours and excursions along the Chicago river to include architecture tours, dinner cruises and kayak rentals. We found a great spot to relax with views of the river at Northman Beer and Cider Garden before setting off for our architecture boat tour,
We had a great time on the Chicago Architecture Boat Tour. We are usually not ones to do organized tours during our trips, but this tour was well worth our time and money. We chose to do the 90 minute tour with Wendella company which is $42 for each adult ticket. Our tour guide was very knowledgable and passionate about Chicago and its unique architecture. He had some great stories to share about Chicago history and the architects behind the buidlings. We learned a lot and saw some great views along the way. After the tour, we had to get a couple slices of Chicago’s deep dish pizza for dinner. Deep dish is not usually my favorite style of pizza, but Chicago knows how to do it well.
After dinner on the second day, we ventured to the 96th floor of the John Hancock building to the Signature Lounge. It is free to enter and first come first serve for a table. We waited only about ten minutes before being seated. Any wait is well worth the jaw-dropping 360-degree views you get of the city in this one-of-a-kind experience. Drinks and snacks are served on the 96th floor and a full-service upscale restaurant is on the 95th floor. We were lucky enough to see the city views at sunset and then into the night. This was a highlight of the trip, and one of my top recommendations if you’re planning to visit Chicago.
Our third day of adventures we set off towards the Lincoln Park area of the city. On our way, we stopped at North Avenue Beach for arguably one of the best views and spots to take photos of the Chicago Skyline . Lincoln Park is a nice nature escape from the city. We explored the free Lincoln Park Zoo and Lincoln Park Conservatory as well as other parks and gardens we found along the way.
About a fifteen minute walk from the Lincoln Park Conservatory we found the cutest lunch spot at the Blue Door Farmstead. This farm to table cafe had a flare of French Country and some delicious food. This restaurant is on North Halstead Street which, along with Armitage Ave has many more shops, Coffee shops, and restaurants to explore.
As we headed back towards the city center, we made our way to the Chicago Blues Festival in mellinum park which is a free festival to attend. We had a great time hanging out on the lawn and listening to some great music. There were multiple stages of music playing all weekend. We were only able to attend for one night but it was definitely a highlight! Before heading back to our place we went down to the Lakefront Trail for an evening stroll along the water and some evening photography of the harbor and city lights.
For our last day in Chicago we made it back to the Chicago Museum of Art. By far our favorite part of the museum was the miniatures room. We saw many other famous paintings including some by Monet, Picasso, etc.
For lunch we headed to Peri Peri where we enjoyed some amazing South African food. And of course we had to have a final coffee before our flight back home. We stopped at Blue Bottle Coffee for our final latte in the city and enjoyed a few final views of the city. Chicago was an amazing city with so many things to explore. We are excited for a future trip back to see more of this wonderful city!
