The wedding took place in the Village of Barrington at the Barrington Hills Country Club. It was a beautiful, outdoor setup with an intimate group of friends and family. The bride, Stephanie, had great taste in her detailing for the wedding and, of course, looked stunning. I was fortunate enough to be in attendance because I was Sean's date, who was the best man. The food was great, many people danced, and I met Sean's parents...
After the wedding, Sean and I stayed with his friends Derek and Tiffany in Crystal Lake where Sean grew up. Sean took me on a scenic tour of the city and would tell me stories of him and his friends. Before Derek and Tiffany's, we stopped by Country Donuts, a local donut shop to offer treats for our hosts.
That night, Sean's parents took Derek, Tiffany, Sean and I out for some pizza. For nostalgic reasons, we went to Nick's Pizza and Pub. According to Sean and Derek, you either love or hate this place; they loved it. It was pizza, so I was happy.
We left for Chicago by train around 10:30 in the morning and didn't arrive in the city around 12:00pm. The train ride into Chicago was rather slow, and boring, but we had no other way to get there being we didn't have a car. I hadn't eaten breakfast, so I was STARVING. I know that is dramatic, but when you are hungry, everything is taken to another level. I had been saving myself for Flo, a New Mexican food restaurant. I had been jonesin' for some chile and needed a fix and was estatic that Chicago had a place that would fulfill my needs. This is probably why I really felt like I was impatient and "hangry" on the train. Before we left, I asked Sean to make sure this place was open on Mondays simply because places don't tend to be open on Mondays these days. He tried to trick me into thinking we would only be walking "a couple blocks from the station" to get there, but he lied. We walked approximately 20 blocks. Any other time would have been fine as I do not mind a casual stroll, but my game face was on and chile was involved. I meant business and every step meant I was getting closer and closer to my goal.
With what seemed like eternity, probably only 25 minutes of walking, we finally reached the block Flo was on. We walk closer and closer, my stomach rejoicing with the sweet scent of roasted chile peppers and sopapillas. The closer we got to the door front, the more and more my dreams of chile smothered huevos rancheros diminished. The lights were off, the restaurant was empty, and the doors were locked. Sean couldn't even look at me when he said, "they're closed." I was trying very hard to not be upset and quickly suggested a neighboring restaurant that was actually open. We wound up a door or two down at Habana Libre (couldn't find a link for the actual restaurant, but this is the Yelp page), a Cuban restaurant. Habana Libre was very tasty, but I don't think I could really give it a fair review as I was very disappointed that I wasn't able to stuff face with honey dipped sopas. Sean ate the Ropa Vieja and I had the Huevos a la Mexicana and smothered it with their "green sauce." I really enjoyed Sean's dish, and mine was fine, but as I said before I was still a little disappointed. This restaurant is a BYOB location which adds to its excitement. They have a patio area where you can enjoy people watching, unless you or your food are blown away by the Chicago wind.
After Habana Libre, Sean and I made our way to Michigan Avenue to do a little shopping. Our first stop was the Nike store. While here, the salespeople convinced me to jump on a treadmill so they could determine the best type of shoe for me and my running habits. They filmed my feet as I was at a 6.2 mph pace and let me know about my stride and strike. The most negative part about this experience was that everyone entering and exiting the store at that time would turn to watch me run, not to mention anyone who was nearby. It was more entertaining than anything, but probably shouldn't have done it so we could see more during the day, but what can you do? Well, I know what I could do, spend just as much if not more time in Zara. That's right, my favorite store of all time just staring me in the face. Needless to say, we dropped some cash in that establishment. We also made an appearance in Tiffany's. It's always fun to look at something shiny and sparkly.
As we made our way down Michigan Avenue, we took a moment to look over the Chicago River. This river runs straight through the heart of downtown Chicago. If I am ever back again, I will be spending more time here as it is the perfect spot for a stroll.
Without further adieu, Millennium Park. We started from the Wrigley Square and Millennium Monument end and snapped some shots in, perhaps, the perfect spot to eat lunch. There is a large plot of grass for sun seekers to lay out a blanket and take in the rays. I didn't see anyone in their bikinis, but people were laying out, reading books, and socializing.
Up next was the Cloud Gate. You may have no idea what this means, but once you see the pictures you will realize that this is one of the most iconic structures of Chicago, otherwise known as "the bean." The Cloud Gate is inspired by liquid mercury and is a "seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates." From above, the sculpture reflects Chicago's skyline and the clouds above. Underneath, is a 12 foot "gate" that allows dozens of people to walk under the sculpture. I absolutely loved seeing "the bean." I have been wanting to visit Chicago for the longest time just for this piece of art!
Next, we saw "Awilda." This sculpture is made of marble, resin and fiberglass and sculpted by the Spaniard, Plensa. Her eyes are closed, making her appear to be dreaming.
The final sculpture that we really took interest in was the Crown Fountain. On either side of the fountain are two large, glass towers that overlook a shallow reflection pool that is used by children and the young at heart to enjoy the warm weather and play in water. The images projected on the screens are two of 1,000 Chicago residents and mimic the traditional gargoyle statues that surround fountains with an open mouth, pouring out water.
After our stroll through Millennium Park, Sean and I found ourselves on the steps of The Art Institute of Chicago. As seen in prior posts, it is known that I love visiting these large museums. I am disappointed however, that we only had an hour before closing to go through and see some of the pieces we wanted to see. It would have been easier if only one of us liked art, or if we both really enjoyed the same things, but that is not the case. Sean and I have similar taste in that we both like contemporary looking art. The difference is that Sean leans more toward modern work where I enjoy impressionism. Despite the short amount of time we were in the museum, we saw most of what we wanted to see.
We made our way to the Willis Tower. Don't know what that is? I didn't either until it was pointed out to me that this building is the old Sears Tower. Makes sense now doesn't it? Unfortunately, we just walked around it. Next time, I want to go up and see the skydeck, a small portion of the tower that sticks out so you can look straight down.
We met up with Sean's friend, Katie, so we could all go to a White Sox game together, but, first, we feast! We ate at Flaco's Tacos. This is a cool, little, Mexican restaurant did not disappoint with their tacos, burritos and $3 margaritas!
After grabbing a bite to eat, Sean, Katie and I went to U.S. Cellular Field to watch the White Sox defeat the Indians with a home-run to score the winning run in the bottom of the 10th. It didn't look so good for the Sox at the beginning of the game, but I was excited for the home team to win. When we first arrived, I took a picture of U.S. Cellular Field and sent it to my uncle, a Sox fan and Chicago Native. His comment back to me read, "Wow! How did you get a seat?" Take a look at the picture and see for yourself why he made that comment.
The train ride home was much more entertaining than the one going into Chicago due to police activity. There was a woman on the train that was drunk and got into it with the "trainman" (I don't know what you call the people who sell the train tickets on a train). Because she dropped a few "F-bombs," we had to wait for about ten minutes at one of the stops so the police could go and talk to her. She was pretending to sleep when they arrived, an interesting move I thought. Her tone changed drastically when she was confronted with the police. The officer asked as he 'woke her up,' "Is there an issue up here?" In an awakening response, the woman replied, "No, sir, I've just been sleeping." The officer said, "Were you giving the ticket man a difficult time? We heard you were." She said, "No, I don't think I did." "Ok, well, you need to come with us." "Ok." And that was it. I was pleasantly surprised at her maturity in just following the request of the officer. I thought it was about to go down.
The last day Sean and I were in Chicago we went to visit O'Hare Tower. I won't go into details on this as it is work related, and because the exciting part happened after the visit. Sean's friend Sean (we'll call him Sean #2 for this story's purpose) was kind enough to take us to the airport (Midway). As we were driving, the three of us got into a discussion about the trip and all of the things we had done. We started to talk about food and Sean #2 asked if we ate here, there or ate that. To all of which, my response was "no." Sean was starting to feel bad. I didn't help because I was putting the guilt trip on him by saying, "Here I come all the way to Chicago and still have not had Chicago deep-dish pizza or a Chicago dog." Sean #2 continued by telling Sean that I'm missing out to which I responded by saying, "I wouldn't know." Sean quickly looked up a Portillo's on his phone. To his luck, there was a Portillo's on the way to Midway. Before Sean #2 dropped us off, we made a snap change of plans and went to the Portillo's. On this day I had my first ever Chicago dog and cheese fries.
Chicago is definitely a place I want to go back to visit. There will be many more stories to add and I can't wait to visit again to see the Cubs play, go back to the museum and eat some greasy, cheesy, deep-dish pizza! Bring on the wind...
