We had a great time in Chicago last night! There was a great mojito bar near our hotel (Jay's favorite!), and though we stopped in for a drink, we loved it so much we stayed for dinner and several mojitos. Then we went down the street to a little blues club where we saw some excellent live blues. All in all, a fantastic night.
After our late night out, we slept in a bit in our wonderful hotel room, and then headed out to check out Chicago. We started by walking down by the lake, and then made our way over to Navy Pier. Neither of us knew what to expect at the pier, and were pleasantly surprised by the fair-like atmosphere. We got some smoothies, and walked up and down the pier taking it all in. It was still well before noon, so it was rather uncrowded (the outdoor bars were already open, though, giving us the impression it was more of an evening destination, but we were happy to enjoy it without the crazy crowds). We took a ride on the ferris wheel, and though I had a mild freak out as we neared the top, we both really enjoyed the view.
Then it was onto a water taxi for a trip on the lake over to over near the aquarium. From there, we enjoyed a leisurely walk (it was quite hot!) along the lake through the park. We stopped into Grant Park to see the famed fountain, but we didn't stay long as the Taste of Chicago was going on and the whole park was completely mobbed.
After escaping the park, we strolled up through to the city to get some deep dish pizza for lunch. We tried to go to one of the well known pizzerias, but the line was so long we decided to just try a little place down the street called Luke's (we took this a good sign), and it was quite good!
After our tasty lunch, we walked up to the Sears (now Willis) tower. We had hoped to take the trip to the top, but it was an hour and a half wait in line just to get tickets! So we decided to pass and took another water taxi, this time down the river to Michigan Ave, which was closer to our hotel. By this point, we were both really hot and a bit tired of walking and crowds, so we hit the hotel's pool for a bit of relaxation.
Then it was showering and getting ready to hit the town one last time. We decided since mojitos worked so well for us last night, we'd try the same again, so we wound up starting with a drink and appetizer at a a mexican restaurant known for its mojitos. Then we headed over to the John Hancock tower to try our luck with that one. We hit it just right - we didn't wait long at all and made it up to the top just in time to see a gorgeous sunset.
After that, we wound up walking around for a while looking for a good dinner spot - it seemed everywhere decent had a long wait. Eventually we settled on a little Italian place near our hotel, where we had a delicious three course meal.
Now we've just finished packing and getting organized for tomorrow, as we're hoping to get out early and beat as much of the heat as possible. Good night!
Picture: view of Chicago from the ferris wheel. We have a few more great shots from today on Jay's phone and camera, I'll try to post them soon.
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