Tour of Chicago, Illinois | Travel Diary
To be honest, I wasn’t too excited about going to Chicago...I wanted to go somewhere warm! But it was Jeff’s turn to choose. 😒 However, after spending just two days there, I gotta say: I LOVE CHICAGO!
For our stay, we planned A LOT of touristy things. Like, we literally got on tour buses, visited museums and took tons of pictures along the way. It was great! 🤗 Here's how we did it all:
Chicago: Day 1
Of course, our first stop had to be Chicago-style pizza. We had a lot of recommendations and settled on Giordano’s since it was closest to us — we were starving! So to start, we ordered their cheesy garlic bread. 😋
Y’all, it’s 3 melted cheeses and GD delicious but not our best idea… Only because we had their famous stuffed deep dish pizza on its way, and it’s no joke!
We ordered the small, which should feed 1-2, but we could have had 2 more people with us just to finish the thing! It’s BIG! And SO GOOD. Just look at it! 😍
OK, I regret nothing. 😋
Next up, sightseeing!
It was chilly and gloomy, but we needed to work off the pizza! So, we headed to Millennium Park to walk around and visit "The Bean" (Cloud Gate). Once there, we realized the park has so much more to see!
Millennium Park has an impressive collection of public art, architecture, and landscape design. From Lurie Garden to (our personal favorite) the Crown Fountain, there's something for everyone to enjoy. It's beautiful. 💫
Our next stop was the The Art Institute of Chicago. We both appreciate art and there are so many great works at the AIC — it's incredible! It is the 2nd largest art museum in the United States, so it's impossible to take it all in just one afternoon. But, trust me, we tried!
We really would have stayed longer, but we had plans 1,353 feet in the air: Skydeck Chicago! Yeah, I was not kidding about turning into full-on tourists this trip. 🤓
The observation deck is on the 103rd floor of Willis Tower (formerly Sears), and although I'm not great with heights, we both made it out on The Ledge — the glass balcony that extends out 4.3 feet from the skyscraper. 😱 FN crazy.
Looking down was tough... But the all around view is stunning. Glad we experienced it! Skydeck Chicago really has the BEST view of the Windy City and more. Jeff and I got there at the perfect time too! Right before sunset, so it was really beautiful/romantic to watch it from so up high. 🌆💕
It was then time for some food! But not before grabbing some drinks. 😜 As usual, we picked out a "hidden" bar to check out. This time it was The Violet Hour in Wicker Park. The Violet Hour has no sign, but features an ever-changing mural and an inconspicuous door within in the mural. To find the entrance, you gotta look for the single light bulb above it. 💡 SO COOL.
Once inside, we were greeted by a bouncer and a framed sign that read: "No cell phone use inside lounge. Proper attire requested. [...] No O-bombs. No Jager-bombs. No bombs of any kind. No Budweiser. No light beer. No Grey Goose. No Cosmopolitans. And finally, please do not bring anyone to the Violet Hour that you wouldn’t bring to your mother’s house for Sunday dinner." 👀
Just behind the bouncer was a floor-to-ceiling velvet curtain. Luckily, it wasn't long before the hostess came through to walk us in and seat us in high-backed leather chairs...Yeah, the decor at The Violet Hour is pretty fancy, y'all. 👌 The chandeliers and hardwood floors add to the elegant feel, and the dim lighting creates an intimate atmosphere. Definitely not what you'd expect from seeing it outside! It was the perfect romantic setting after our day of exploring.
The Violet Hour's menu, however, didn't really call to us, so after a couple drinks we went out to find tacos. 😳 LOL. But seriously... 🌮 We found a place close to some other bars for them, and just bar-hopped before calling it a night.
Such a fun first day!
(FYI: The Chicago CityPASS gives you discounted admission to the city's premier attractions 😉)
Chicago: Day 2
It was rainy and much colder our second day, but it didn't stop us from all the activities we planned!
The Museum of Science and Industry was first on our list. IT IS THE COOLEST PLACE, y'all. Just walking in... I mean, WOW. So much to do and see!
We felt like kids on a field trip, only way better because we're grown-ass adults who may or may not have been a bit buzzed throughout... And also, may or may not have cut in front of kids actually on a field trip for different activities/exhibits 😏 #NoShame
The MSI has tons of interactive, hands-on exhibits and even if you're not a nerd like us, just seeing everything there will blow you away. Oh, AND they have the Apollo 8 spacecraft there!! 😲🚀
Our journey through the MSI eventually lead us to the Omnimax Theater, where we caught one of their educational films on butterflies that, honestly, put me to sleep... BUT I will say the theater itself was pretty dope. It's a 5-story, domed, wraparound theater — so if you check it out, just pick a good film, haha! It was a cool experience.
Jeff and I really enjoyed everything at the MSI. Unfortunately, we had to rush through it in the end, because our tour bus was on it's way to pick us up. 😢 We definitely will be back though! It was so fun!
Once we caught our bus, our tour guide announced he was taking us off-map to the part of Chicago we weren't expecting to see — the south. Sooo glad we did, though! We learned and saw so much! One of my favorite things was the Fountain of Time statue in Washington Park.
Once we made it back downtown, we were hungry and had to get our "Cheezborger, Cheezborger" from The World-Famous Billy Goat Tavern. Not quite the SNL experience I had in mind, but still delicious! We both got the "doublecheez" with fries. 👅 Jeff's had bacon, of course:
Afterwards, we got on an open-top double decker bus for our last tour of the city. This tour taught us more about Chicago's architecture. It actually started raining mid-tour, but Jeff and I toughed it out on top to stay with our tour guide and get the “full experience.” IT WAS COLD AF THO!! 😰 But I did get some good pics out of it!
Something I didn't know was in Chicago and was pretty cool to see on the tour was Buckingham Fountain, aka the "Married With Children" fountain from the opening credits! Had to snap my sisters pics of it while passing so I didn't really get any real good shots to share. 👻
Our last stop was the Navy Pier. There's so many shops, restaurants and attractions there. Plus, you get fantastic views of the Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan.
Besides the scenery, we enjoyed some food/booze from Harry Caray's Tavern. Jeff got to try "A Little Sumpin' Sumpin'" (IPA by Lagunitas Brewing Company) there and loved it.
We also stopped to check out the Billy Goat Tavern at the Navy Pier just for kicks (more booze).
Finally, we ended our day by taking one last stroll downtown, caught a glimpse of the Crown Fountain at night, and bought a 6-pack of Goose Island to take back to our hotel room and CHILL. PERFECT NIGHT.
Chicago was really great to us. We truly enjoyed our stay!
To see more from this trip, follow me on Instagram @nancytaguirre!
