Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Chicago; Now I know why it's called "The Windy City" May17-20, 2014

Hey everyone!

I have finally decided to update my blog about my recent adventures over the past few months. I left off in April. We visited Washington D.C. and had a fantastic time.

Our next adventure takes place in The Windy City! And windy it was, indeed. Every time I walked outside I was almost blown away! This was Eyen and my first time here. It was a blast! Unfortunately, I didn't take as many photos as I should have, but we will be returning there soon! 

The interesting thing about this adventure is that my sister was married the evening before we had to leave. We needed to be in Chicago by 8 a.m., so we left Arkansas around 9 p.m. and drove the entire night without sleep. The next day was very interesting. But, WE MADE IT!

 We look pretty good for ZERO sleep! This is us at Sneaker-Con.
 After the event, we decided to try out some Chicago style pizza. This is seriously the BEST pizza I have ever had! The place is called "Il Forno", and this pizza was amazing. We got half Martguerita, half Greek. I cannot wait to go back here!
We stayed at the Hyatt. It was a fantastic hotel and very comfortable stay! I actually felt like home.

 We decided to have dinner the next day at a place called "Francesco's Hole in the Wall" It is rated #1 out of 105 on TripAdvisor.com for best restaurant in Northbrook, IL.

The restaurant is filled will photos of famous people that have eaten there over the years. And some go WAY BACK! It was really interesting to look at.


You can see Ronald McDonald in this pic. Eyen doesn't look very enthusiastic. haha


 This is the bread they serve you. And their plaque for what I mentioned earlier.
 Eyen and I are on the hunt for the best fried calamari in the country. This one is good, but it isn't the best.
 I ordered the ravioli; stuffed with seafood and cheese!
 Eyen ordered a seafood linguini.


 A selfie at our fancy dinner.
 Of course we had to try the canoli. This is an Italian restaurant after all.


This meal was our most expensive meal in Chicago. The food was good, but I probably wouldn't go back again. It was nice to have tried it, but it wasn't anything absolutely spectacular. It didn't help that our waitress was kind of rude. :(




 We ate a lot of pizza during this trip. This is from the famous "Barnaby's" pizza. This is half hawaiian, half pepperoni with jalapenos and olives. Sadly, we did not enjoy this pizza as much as the other things we tried. 



After lunch, we decided to take a trip to Navy Pier. We wanted to be sure we saw a good view of the Chicago skyline!

 Can't go wrong with Breds and Royals. (For those who aren't sneaker enthusiasts, those are the shoes we are wearing; royal blue and bred [black/red]).
 A view of the water.
 This was taken before we reached the top.
 This is overlooking the shopping center and rest of the pier.
 Someone's yacht. :)
 I love this photo. The sun shining behind the buildings is beautiful.
 Some of the other rides.
 I have seen skyscrapers before, so it's hard for me to explain why these are so much cooler. You just have to see for yourself.

The next few photos are some other shots we got from the Ferris Wheel.





 WARNING: Selfie overload about to occur. :)











 After the Ferris Wheel, we decided to explore the inside of the mall at Navy Pier. This was a really cool garden!
 This is McDonalds! It looks fancy. 


After we explored the mall and picked up some souvenirs for our family, we decided to drive around a bit to check out the scenery. We were able to capture some really nice photos of the skyline right before evening.









In college, my roommate was from Chicago. I remember her always telling me how good Portillo's hot dogs were. SO, of course I had to come try it for myself! 

 It was a neat looking place.
 We decided to try their ribs as well. Pretty good!
 My hot dog! VERY GOOD!
 Baked Potato with the fixins'.

 I'm always happy when I'm about to eat.
 This was a chocolate cake shake. It has ground up chocolate cake in it!! It was really sweet. We couldn't even finish it.



After dinner, we decided to drive to the "Magnificent Mile". This is one of the main strips in Chicago. It is known for its nightlife. 

We were able to snap some really pretty pics of the skyline at night as well.










This was our last night in Chicago, and we still had not tried deep dish pizza. We had a hard decision between Lou Malnati's and Giordano's. 

We decided to go with Giordano's! It did not disappoint, but I'm excited to try Lou Malnati's the next time we are in town. 

 Pizza and beer. Can't beat that!


 By the time our last day rolled around, I was still SO tired!
 This is the fabulous deep dish pizza! We got half BBQ Chicken and half supreme. It takes almost an hour to make this pizza since it's so deep. But it is well worth the wait!!!

All in all, Chicago was a blast. I wish I could have updated everyone sooner. 

I have a schedule of what is to come next!
1. Miami/Pensacola Beach
2. My Birthday/Family Update/Miscellaneous 
3. New York City

Stay tuned, everyone!

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