Vacation Diaries, Day 8: Chicago

When I mentioned to my family my vacation problem, my dad immediately rose to the occasion like the adventurer he is and told me to reserve May 3. Over the next couple weeks he peppered me with a series of clues (It's midway between two really cool things. Think of the 12th letter of the alphabet) which of course I didn't get because I thought, as one would, that it would be in driving distance. So when I learned we were flying to Chicago for the day I was super excited. Despite it's relatively close proximity, I'd never been.

We left on a 7:30 am flight, so we touched down in Chicago, hopped on the El, and made it downtown by 9:15. Although we'd already had two coffees, we headed to our first stop, Intelligentsia coffee shop, and spent some time with the barista choosing from their amazing selection of fair trade coffee. We spent so much (including a $33/half pound Brazilian reserve) that we got free coffee, and good thing we did because it was the MOST AMAZING COFFEE I'VE EVER HAD.

Abuzz, we headed over to Millennium Park to see the big silver bean!
It didn't disappoint.



















I'd booked us tickets on the highly recommended Architectural Boat Cruise through downtown, and I was glad I did because it was amazing - we learned a ton about the city and got to see a good portion of it, too.



















We stumbled off the boat, famished, and stumbled into South Water Kitchen for a one-martini lunch, before setting off to the Macy's/Marshall Field's Flagship Store, primarily because it contained a LUSH mini-store -- cause boy do I like my bath and body products. The salesgirls fluttered around us as we whirled through the shop. We decided on a host of sorry-you-stayed-home-gifts for Mom, and for me, Ocean Salt facial scrub, Ultimate Shine shampoo bar, and Wiccy Magic Muscles massage bar for my sore post-run legs.

We returned to Argo Tea, where we'd breakfasted on quiche, so I could get some tea (mango, bubble), which turned out to be the MOST AMAZING TEA I'VE EVER HAD.

Then we shopped, wandered, and explored some more before heading back, scooping up some souvenirs at the airport (including a Chicago big pencil, nostalgically adding to the big pencil collection I had as a kid). My dad dozed on the flight home as I contentedly sipped a Bloody Mary, ate pita chips, and worked my way through a kakuro puzzle book we'd thrown in at the airport.

"We should do this more often," my dad said when he awoke.

I heartily agree.