City Trip to Chicago!

In March, we got a wedding invitation in the mail for Dana and Chris's wedding. After the initial excitement, we saw that it was going to be in... Chicago! Oops! Should we go or not go? After (not too much) deliberation, we decided that YES, we wanted to go! Dana is such a good friend of ours (and Chris now too!) that we didn't want to miss this special event. Even though only adults were invited to the ceremony (due to restrictions from the wedding venue), we took the kids along (I mean, it wasn't really a question. Who would look after them at home? We have no family to help us out here!!!) and it worked out really well. We were able to procure babysitting services through the hotel (American Child Care - The Best! I cannot recommend them highly enough!) and it was nice to be able to enjoy the wedding ceremony without having to keep an eye on the kids all the time!

We were so lucky! The weather turned out to be really nice (90 degrees Fahrenheit or around 30℃). We spent Saturday and Sunday exploring Chicago and attended the wedding on Sunday night. On Monday, I met up with an old friend from back at university in Belgium (we studied law together at the KULAK and KU Leuven) and her kids. The kids didn't miss any school because of the long Memorial Day Weekend. It was awesome!!!

Here's my review of a great city trip!

Saturday, May 26:

We got up early to catch the 8:25 AM flight from LAX to Chicago O'Hare airport and arrived around 2:30 PM in the afternoon after a 4-hour flight (there's a 2 hour time difference between Chicago and Los Angeles). Ennio was so excited to get into the Uber that took us to the airport. It didn't matter it was 6 o'clock in the morning and still dark outside. He just LOVES traveling so much. Lily was excited too, even though she didn't like saying goodbye to Stella, our cat. The flight went well and I was happy to be able to finally go through my Chicago Mini Travel Guide and get some ideas on how to make the most of our 48 hours in the city! When we got to Chicago, we followed the "trains to city"-sign and took the Blue Line 'L' train to Downtown. It was cheap ($5) and easy and only took us about 30 minutes to get to The Loop District. We walked along Chicago Avenue, crossed Michigan Avenue (the Magnificent Mile), and took a left on Mies van der Rohe Way (which houses the Museum of Contemporary Art) to get to Hotel Raffaello (right next to the wedding venue). Yay, we made it and were ready to explore Chicago!

View upon landing!

Ennio in the L-train

Lily in the L-train

At the Chicago/Michigan intersection - with the John Hancock Building in the background (the black building with the signature Xs)

We were all hungry and my travel guide mentioned Spiaggia multiple times as a good place to eat. We got there early and hung out at the bar until the Café opened (the café is less upscale and more casual than the restaurant).

You wouldn't say, but these were delicious, non-alcoholic drinks!

Kids happy too, because they were allowed to drink Coca-Cola!

After our tummies were filled (and the food was indeed extraordinary - this place lives up to the hype!), we strolled along Lake Shore Drive, spent some time at Lake Shore Park, and then walked along Lake Michigan, up to Navy Pier. I was impressed by the Crystal Gardens, an indoor botanical garden at the pier. Outside, we went on the wave swinger. We didn't want to get in line for the Centennial Wheel, because the wait looked too long, even though this is one of the eye-catchers of Chicago.

Crystal Gardens

Navy Pier's Centennial Wheel

When the sky turned dark, we walked back to our hotel. The kids were tired (and they clearly voiced that!!!). We were definitely ready for bed!

Sunday, May 27:

We slept in (mind you, that doesn't mean much with our kids. We were up by 8 AM) and had breakfast at the Starbucks nearby (corner of E Delaware Place and N Michigan Avenue). We had limited time to go sightseeing because we wanted to be back at the hotel by 4 PM to get ready for the wedding celebration. I had done some research on-line the night before and suggested to take an Architectural Boat Tour on the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. We took a cab to the Wendella Boats dock and were just in time to buy tickets for the 11 o'clock tour. The weather was gorgeous and it was great to spend 90 minutes on the boat and take in all that our guide had to tell about Chicago's history and architecture. The city was destroyed by fire in 1871 and entirely rebuilt. Some of the best architects in the US and the world were commissioned to design the many skyscrapers that are now landmark buildings defining Chicago's skyline. Did you know that the Chicago River is flowing backwards? Yes, the river's flow was reversed by engineers in 1900 to spare Lake Michigan its pollution. The water now is clear(er) again and made for a great boat trip and magnificent views of the city's skyline.

This was right next to Starbucks.

We took one of these Wendella boats!

At the Chicago Harbor Lock where the water is pumped up or down (depending if you're going onto the river or onto the lake)

Carbide and Carbon building (the top is shaped like a champagne bottle)

Ennio didn't want to leave the boat!

When we got off the boat around 1 PM, we decided to have lunch at Millennium Park. Marcus and I wanted to take photos at The Bean (or Cloud Gate) and the Crown Fountain, but it was obvious the kids were tired and hungry (there were even tears...) We ate at the Plaza of the Park Grill and then headed to Maggie Daley Park, which has a huge kids playground and where Lily and Ennio could climb, run and swing for a bit.

Jay Pritzker Pavilion, designed by Frank Gehry

Around 4 PM, we took a cab back to the hotel and started getting ready for the evening festivities. Our babysitter arrived around 5:30 PM and off we went! The wedding venue was just 2 minutes away, in the Signature Room on the 95th Floor of the John Hancock building (now called 360 CHICAGO). What an amazing view we had all night long! The marriage ceremony started at 6 PM and it was so sweet. The bride and groom exchanged beautiful vows to each other and looked sooo happy when they walked down the aisle. It was so much fun to see people again which we hadn't seen in ages, and to catch up with them. Wedding receptions and dinners are great for that 😀.

This 1970 landmark building was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and used the Xs on the facade as cross-braces to help the 1,100-ft (335 m) building withstand the winds coming off Lake Michigan. The wedding party took place on the 95th floor!!!

Nice dinner table, right?

Wedding cake with a view!

Chris, the groom, designed and made the fondant piece himself!

Father and daughter walking down the aisle!

Exchanging vows!

Just married!!!

First dance for the happily married couple!

The magnificent view over the course of the night:

We had food and drinks, talked and danced until about midnight and then headed back to our hotel, where the babysitter told us everything had gone smoothly. It was a great night out!

Monday, May 28:
The kids woke up early, so we didn't get much sleep, but that was okay. We checked out, said goodbye to our friends, and jumped in a cab to Lincoln Park, where we were going to meet up with Kaatje, an old friend of mine from back in my university days in Belgium. I hadn't seen her in 20 years!!! She moved to the States a bit before me and has lived in Chicago's suburbs ever since. She has three kids of 9, 7 and 5 years old. It was awesome to see her and get to know Matilda, Jasper and Leona. We walked through the Zoo and had brunch at Cafe Brauer. Then, Kaatje showed us the Nature Boardwalk, Pavilion and Bridge with its breathtaking view of the Chicago skyline.

 

Marcus took some nice headshots of the kids during lunch:

After lunch, it was time for ice cream!





Peoples Gas Education Pavilion:

Kaatje and I

Our flight back to Los Angeles was scheduled for 3:45 PM so we said goodbye, picked up our luggage from the hotel and headed to the airport. Everything worked out so well. I really enjoyed getting to know Chicago. There are many sights we didn't see yet (the Museum of Science and Industry, the Art Institute, etc). We hope to be back some day!

 

Bye bye, Chicago! It was lovely getting to know you!