My wife and I have just arrived back from our four night visit to Chicago,we had a wonderful time thanks to all you Tripadvisors who helped us tremendously with our plans.
Day 1 Arrived O%26#39;Hare at 2pm cleared immigration, who were very polite picked up a taxi and arrived at our accommodation for two nights Flemish House by 4pm which I thought was pretty good. (Report on Hotel Forum for Flemish House, excellent accommodation) My wife unpacked while I went out to a convenience store for essentials for the fridge, like beer and wine! We had pre -booked all of our meals based on recommendations. First night Cafe Spiaggia which was excellent really tasty food, nice views, unusual position I was expecting a liitle Italian cafe and this was on the second floor of an office building. It%26#39;s posh neighbour is right next door. When we finished our meal we had a stroll around Rush Street, it was manic loads of people eating and drinking it was an eye opener!
Day 2 Thursday. Up early got the bus to meet our Chicago Greeter Chuck, who was very informative and interesting, he gave us a tour of the Cultural Center then on to Millennium Park which was fascinating and very impressive. He then pointed out various shops before we took a bus to Bucktown and Whicker Park which were very interesting areas from a historical point of view wonderful old houses. We then got the train back to look at some more artwork including the Marc Chagall Mosaic of The Four Seasons. Chuck who was 70 years old gave up his time to show us around Chicago for 4 hours in temperatures of 90 degrees very grateful to him. That evening we went to Gibsons, now here was a culture shock! The place is huge, noisy and very very busy. Not your romantic dining for two here! The food portions were enormous, we had small steaks which were 12oz, people were ordering 20 oz steaks, how can people eat such quantities of food? Gibsons was very good but not really our ideal dining establishment.
Day 3 Friday. Checked into to our second hotel Sofitel Water Tower which was excellent ( Report on Hotel Forum). Booked the CAF river tour which was very good, it was a very hot day but we managed to get a seat on deck, the boat was packed. A very good trip, loads to see, the guide spoke non stop for the whole 90 minutes, very knowledgable and informative, good value. Stop for lunch then my wife thought it was time for the serious stuff- shopping! Which took us up until early evening. Cocktails in Water Tower Bar and then off for dinner at Joes Seafood Restaurant which was really good, thanks Dave 148 for recommending it, woul;d go again.
Day 4 Saturday up early into the hotel fitness room at 6.30, then down to Oak Street Beach which I thought was wonderful, two minutes down the road and you have this beach right in the city. Breakfast at Kitchen Corner Cafe very good and then to Bloomingdales as soon as it opened for some more shopping, on to Macy%26#39;s and we found Abercrombie and Fitch which was perfect for presents for our teenage daughters. We called it a day for shopping at lunchtime had something to eat and then walked along to Navy Pier a very pleasant stroll on a lovely day, didn%26#39;t think there was an awful lot to interst us here but it was worth the walk. Just back in time before the heavens opened. Last evening : we went for cocktails at The John Hancock Center which was nothing like we were expecting, we thought it was going to be some posh cocktail bar! It was heaving with people extremely busy but it was worth the visit obviously for the view. That evening we had dinner at Bistro Zinc which was the only disappointing meal on our trip, we just found the food too overpowering not at all to our taste. It wasn%26#39;t full in there and perhaps that should have acted as a warning as most of the other restaurants on Rush Street were packed.
Last Morning Sunday. Into the fitness room then breakfast at Guess, I think it was called, next door to Cru, very good. Back to hotel, just sufficient time for my wife to buy a pair of running shoes in Gola! Taxi to O%26#39;Hare, we expected a quick trip as it was Sunday,wrong the traffic was horrendous took just over an hour to get there, even the crew arrived after us! The queue was enormous for security,someone said it was due top short staffing as it was Fathers Day! Needless to say tthe flight was late taking off.
Overall our views on Chicago: It was a wonderful city, people very friendly and helpful. Hassle free apart from traffic! The weather was wonderful, great restaurants, bars, hotels and all the big name shops for my wife! The only time I felt nervous was when I was shopping with my wife and she asked the price of things! I would regard Chicago as a well kept secret, I don%26#39;t know why it has taken us so long to visit you. We will be back.
Finally a big thank you to all Tripadvisor contributors who took the time to answer my numerous questions it was greatly appreciated.
Trip Report 14th to 17th of June First Visit.
Your report was such a pleasure to read. One thing troubled me though. Who gets up at 6:30 when on vacation? Just kidding. Thanks for taking the time to write it.
Trip Report 14th to 17th of June First Visit.
Bootle45, so glad you enjoyed exploring Chicago!
Thank you for posting your trip report. We really enjoy reading them and learning the visitor%26#39;s experiences and thoughts.
Please come back and visit again soon.
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