Farewell Windy City

This is my last Chicago post and its giving me a lump in my throat. As much as I have to admit I hated how cold I was, every day, all of the time, I really loved that city. I loved that it had the "big city" look and feel, with none of the dirt and grime. I also loved how sports-mad everyone is. If it isn't the Bulls, its the Blackhawks, or the Bears, or the Cubs. Banners and flags and supporters gear were displayed almost everywhere we went. And even at a fine dining establishment like RPM Italian, the basketball play-offs were being screened - locals wouldn't have it any other way. Dressed to the nines for a fancy dinner, but you know, there are priorities, and the Bulls vs Cavaliers playoff game was a big one.

Our last two days were spent embracing the touristy side of Chicago. We did an architectural tour by boat along the river. Which I highly recommend. You wouldn't say so given the lack of photographic evidence, but it was one of my favourite tourist attractions. There is one photo to document this tour as it was even more cold on the river boat than it was anywhere on land. So I spent the tour inside the cabin, peering out of a small window. I am a giant wuss and a loser, I know.

After this we strolled around Navy Pier, which in the full swing of summer must be loads of fun as it boasts live music and weekly fireworks on it's activities roster, starting mid-June. So we just missed it all. Nevertheless, it made for some pretty photos of the city and the lake, and a lovely walk.

We then took a final turn through the city and our beloved Magnificent Mile and made our way down to Willis Tower (or Sears Tower for the die-hards) so that we could stand in a glass box jutting out of the building at 103 stories up. The infamous SkyDeck. It is a must. Suck it up and just do it - so they say.
Sweating bullets, we posed for a few pictures for as long we could stand it and then we stood back and enjoyed watching other people laugh, cry and crawl their way in and out of that box.

After our daredevil antics, we went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner and a show. Painful as it is to admit, I am a big Guiliana and Bill Rancic fan, so I insisted on trying their Italian restaurant while we were in Chicago. Obviously, we walked to dinner. If you ever visit Chicago, promise me that you'll walk and walk and walk - because if you do, you are rewarded with streets like these:

And the verdict on RPM Italian? Fantastic. The food and the cocktails were outstanding. The service from the waitress and sommelier were brilliant and the ambience was a wonderful mix of fine dining, chic, young and trendy, but with the bar area airing the Bulls game, it managed to snuff out any stuffiness, which I loved. My only complaint was the team of hostesses at the front. They seemed very miserable and gave everyone a once over and a lip curl of disapproval as they walked in, which I thought was in bad taste. Minor details I guess...

For a final night out in Chicago, we took the opportunity to check out the Chicago Broadway scene, which, you may not know, is huge. They have plenty of theatres, with almost all of the major productions showing - but at half the price of seeing the same show in New York. Seeing as Book of Mormon tickets on Broadway in NYC are almost impossible to get at the last minute, we took our chance to see it in Chicago, and it was one of the best decisions we made on our trip. It was hysterical. I would never have thought I would laugh so hard at a musical - but we both left with aching jaws and a sore belly from laughing so much. It was dark and offensive humour - just the way I like it.

So I've come to the end of the Chi-town leg of our trip.
As much as I complained about the weather, Chicago, you were lovely.

Chicago Part 3

This is my second last post on our time in Chicago, and it was one of my favourite days on our trip.
If you find yourself in Chicago, you absolutely have to grab a bike and go for a ride along the river and lake. We did around 25 kilometres, and would have loved to do more, but it was so cold! I ended up forgoing my trusty leather jacket (and lost some style points as well) and ended up buying a duck-down sleeveless puffer jacket to wear. Don't let the blue skies fool you in these pictures - my fingertips were about the same colour.

You'll find a massive bike rental spot just past The Bean and the amphitheatre in Millennium Park. The one down at Navy Pier isn't always open, so just keep that in mind when planning your day - we learnt this the hard way and it is quite a long walk from there back up to Millennium Park. So I'm going to save you the hassle. Go straight to the park instead. You simply pick a bike and a helmet, and off you go. We rode through the park , and along the river for a while, before taking a few detours (we got lost), and then found our way onto the lakeside bike path.

 After taking in enough of the cityscape, we went towards the aquarium, and beyond until we couldn't take the stinging cold on our faces and knuckles any longer. The views were worth it though. And I have said it over and over, but Chicago really is the most beautiful city I have ever seen - but next time I visit, will definitely be in July or August. This creature of comfort does not deal with your "lake effect" weather all that well Chi-town.

Once we'd traded in our bikes back at the park, we decided to spend the rest of the day indulging. So we went for a little retail therapy and then onwards to find some food. On the top of our list was the legendary Portillo's for a true Chicago-style hotdog. They are also famous for their cheese fries and, wait for it, chocolate cake shake. I watched them make it, and it is quite literally, a big fat wedge of chocolate cake blitzed into ice cream. And it was as naughty as it sounds.

Once you're inside, its, well, interesting. It is like a diner, pizzeria, saloon and laundromat all threw up collectively into one space - toss in some neon lighting for good measure and you have the Portillo's decor and ambience. The place is packed - but what is always a sign of great food is that it wasn't just tourists. There were locals in suits, policemen and a few families popping in for an after-school treat. This is always an indication that the food is actually good and it isn't just an overrated tourist trap.
The Chicago-style hotdog with its giant quartered pickle and poppy seeds is fantastic. And the cheese fries still haunt my dreams. We went back a second time just before we left, because it just seemed wrong to only sample those fries and that horridly over-indulgent milkshake only once in our lives.

Luckily for us, Chicago is best seen on foot or by bike - so there was a balance between eating everything in sight, and getting our heart rate up. Although maybe that was from all the sugar...I'm not entirely sure.

Chicago Part 2

We only had a few days in Chicago, and yet so much we wanted to do. So before we left SA, we made our bookings and bought our tickets and pretty much jam-packed our schedule.
On top of this, there were so many foodie things we wanted to try out, so we just made peace with the  fact that we were going to have the odd donut for breakfast, and dessert for dinner. Because this is America after all.

The weather was still rather foul, and colder than we could have imagined. It honestly was almost as cold as London was in December. Thank goodness for tossing in a pair of Chelsea boots into my suitcase at the last minute. They saved my toes. My fingers and nose were not so lucky.

Bundled up, we went to warm up with a cup of coffee, before heading off in search of the hugely popular Doughnut Vault. We took a detour via the park to stretch our legs and 'earn' our sugar-laden breakfast.

After stopping for another warm drink at yet another coffee place (did I mention it was really cold?), we eventually found our way into a quiet part of the city and thought we'd gotten lucky and were first in the queue. Until we walked around the corner. And found the rest of Chicago braving the chill for their fix too. So I broke one of my life rules, and did the most American thing I've done to date, and I queued for junk food.

Most flavours had sold out, so we settled on vanilla glazed regular, plus a buttermilk vanilla donut (which they're famous for). The vanilla glazed was the size of my head and delicious. But we agreed that the buttermilk one just tasted like it needed to be baked for a few more hours until it was an Ouma rusk, that could be better used for dipping in a cup of tea.

We walked back toward Magnificent Mile to grab lunch and something that resembled a vegetable or an actual meal and failed miserably. We ended up inside a Garrett's Popcorn store and walked out with some Garretts Mix instead. Garrett's Mix is caramel popcorn and really, royally cheesy popcorn mixed together. Which you would not think would work at all, but it does and its instantly addictive. However, it is worth nothing that your fingers will be yellow for days.

We decided to write the day off in terms of our health and grabbed a taxi to our next stop, United Centre, for the Chicago Bulls game. We'd been following the play-offs for weeks leading up to our trip, hoping that we'd get to see a game while in Chicago. And the b-ball gods smiled upon us and we were able to see the Chicago Bulls against the Cleveland Cavaliers (yep, that team with LeBron and some other guys who don't get to play much).

We toured the stadium and bought some cheesy souvenirs, grinning like idiots the entire time. We couldn't believe we'd been so lucky with how the play-offs worked out, and that we'd managed to find tickets. But it only got better.
Watching the Bulls at home meant a vibe and a show like no other. Complimentary Bulls t-shirts awaited us at our seats. Beer flowed. Shouting "Defence, defence" until our voices were gone. Cheerleaders and pyrotechnics at each timeout. And then, Kanye...

Yep, Mr Kim Kardashian himself gave us a little impromptu show during one of the timeouts. It was phenomenal. And the game couldn't have been closer, keeping us on the edge of our seats, high-fiving strangers when we were ahead, and cursing LeBron when we were behind. Ultimately, that lanky bugger pulled off an amazing final shot that clinched the game for the Cavs. So, heartbroken, we went in search of the legend himself, Michael Jordan.

We paid our respects to the Lord of basketball and headed back uptown. After the heartbreaking loss, there was really only one thing that was going to lift our spirits, and that was chocolate. We'd noticed a Ghirardelli store around the corner from our hotel and had made a mental note to pop in if we had a chance. Its not at all on the 'Chicago must-try' list of foods, but we fell in love with Ghirardelli when we were in San Francisco two years ago, and if you ever have a chance to try their warm brownie sundae, you absolutely have to do it.  And never share one, it should be all yours.
That is also one of my life rules, by the way.

Chicago Part 1

I have finally sorted through my travel photos and have been dying to share my adventures in the USA with you. So here it goes.

We landed at JFK earlier than expected (nicely done SAA - the direct flight from Jhb is a winner. No more 7 hour lay overs in Dubai/Heathrow/wherever) so we managed to grab an earlier connecting flight to Chicago, giving us almost the whole day there, as opposed to only arriving in the evening like we'd originally planned.
Once we arrived in Chi-town, and stepped out of the cab, we were greeted by clouds, thick mist and an icy breeze straight off of Lake Michigan. This was also when we realised we had under-packed for this kind of weather. Poor Dave didn't even have closed shoes in his suitcase. *Note to self: all future Chicago trips must be in July.

Undeterred, we layered up as best we could and went exploring. Our hotel was right off Magnificent Mile so we simply had to choose between left or right, and go walking. Being somewhat over-excited and maybe a little jet lagged, we decided to walk all the way down to see the famous Cloud Gate, more famously known as "The Bean". Of course, we went weaving in and out of shops and a Starbucks or two on the way. (I even managed to find a Rebecca Minkhoff handbag on sale at Nordstrom Rack - within hours of touchdown, so I was incredibly chuffed with myself. I'll show you some of the goodies I picked up on my travels in a another post, promise.)

"The Bean" as far as must-see landmarks go, is fantastic. It is huge, and while completely unexpected, it fits in with its surroundings seamlessly. From one side you have the incredible cityscape as a backdrop, and from the other side, the lush Millennium Park. The entire area was crawling with tourists, but we managed a few decent snaps of the famous oversized sweet. Nothing climbing on a table with a selfie stick can't manage ;)

After we'd taken in enough of the park, we decided to brave the icy breeze and walk back toward our hotel along the river. This made us turn almost blue with cold, but it was worth it, just to take in some of the unforgettable architecture that Chicago is so famous for. Each skyscraper is more impressive than the last, until you reach Trump Tower, one of the tallest of the bunch. We couldn't see the top tier through the dense mist, but what from what we could see, we loved. And we crossed fingers and toes the weather would clear up so that we could see it, in all it's glory, on a clear day.

Considering that we'd obviously burnt a million calories walking so much in the chilly weather, we figured that we'd earned our dinner, so we went straight for the deep dish! Conveniently situated right next door to our hotel, we had a quick shower and change to warm up, and then skipped over to Gino's East. There are a few famous deep dish pizza spots to try in Chicago, but we settled for proximity and convenience. 

We went for the cheese and pepperoni medium size, to share. Well. We managed a slice and a bit each. Maybe it was being so tired from the long haul flight, or we are giant wusses, but we didn't stand a chance. To be honest, I prefer NYC style - the whole extra-thick pie crust and masses of marinara sauce aren't really my thing. And it really is just too much food. But I'll let the photos tell you the rest.

*Photos are all with my iPhone. It was far to cold to take out my camera.