Chicago has stolen our hearts with its amazing architecture, food, art, and midwestern charm. While we are still in a pandemic, we were fortunate enough to get away for the weekend and Chicago was a great city to visit. We came with open minds and appetites for good food and Chicago didn’t disappoint.
Southwest Airlines is our go-to airline flying out of San Jose. They are affordable and took social distancing seriously by leaving the middle seat empty so that there’s space between other passengers. It made us feel at ease and appreciated the extra space because there’s nothing more nerve-racking when you sit close to complete strangers on a long flight during the pandemic. The 65% capacity is in effect until December 1st and appreciates it.
After a 5 1/2 hour flight, we arrived around 3ish which was plenty of time to explore. The weather was perfect at 73 degrees but a little bit humid as expected for late summer. We took public transportation from the airport to our hotel in downtown to save money and it was a great way to see the city. The train station was just outside the airport and it was easy to get to the CTA Orange Line ‘L’ which went to our downtown hotel and it only cost $2.50. It beats the price for a cab or a ridesharing app anytime.
The first thing I wanted to do was see was to check out Cloud Gate Sculpture at Millenium Park which resembles a giant silver bean as Zack likes to refer to. Cloud Gate is a stainless steel sculpture that has a dimension of 33 ft × 42 ft × 66 ft. It is massive and an impressive sculpture that tourists like us flock to see it. It was blocked off by barricades so people wouldn’t touch it due to obvious reasons but we were able to take pictures in front of it and enjoy its beauty.
Next to Cloud Gate is the Jay Pritzker Pavillion which is a stunning outdoor pavilion. The lawn was filled with people laying on blankets and enjoying the warm sunny day socializing with friends and family. It felt normal like it ought to be. I would have loved to have watched a concert there as I’m sure it would be amazing. I was just glad to be out of California during the fire season and enjoy the fresh air.
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After walking around Millennium Park, we headed to the Buckingham fountain but it was disappointingly dry so we people watched a bit and decided to head south to check out the museums. The museums were already closed when we got there but we were able to still able to appreciate the architecture, sculptures, and art.
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On our way back we went through Millenium Park and discovered the Crown Art video sculpture fountain which shoots out water onto the ground. It’s a marvelous fountain piece that is 50 feet high and displays videos of locals.
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The next day, we had to try the Chicago-style deep-dish pizza at Giordano’s and a Chicago hot dog at Portillo’s We attempted to get a pizza on our first day before going to Millenium Park but the wait was an hour-long and we would have gotten hangry had we waited, and that wouldn’t be a great start to our trip. The pizzas were made to order and took 45 minutes to make. To make sure we got our hands on the pizza, we called it in and had it delivered to our hotel. We knew it would take an hour to make so we anticipated that and it was worth the wait.
As soon as the delivery person handed me the bag, I knew the pizza was going to be delicious as it was heavy, piping hot, and it smelled like an Italian kitchen in a bag. This Chicago-style deep-dish pizza was everything that we expected. The crust was buttery and crispy, the cheese was endlessly flowing, the meat sausage and pepperoni were salty, and the sweet tomato sauce brought all the ingredients together. It was heaven in our mouths with eyes rolling with each bite. It’s comfort food that warms our hearts and fills our tummy with good memories that will last a lifetime.
To burn off the pizza, we decided to check out the River Walk which is just across from our hotel. We discovered the river walk on our way back from Millennium Tower the night before and loved how lively it was with boats and kayaks in the water. Along the river are restaurants, bars, and ice cream shops. It was a great place to just chill and watch the boats float by while people watching behind with an abundance of high rises in the backdrop.
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Visiting Chicago wouldn’t be complete without having a Chicago hot dog and Portillo’s was the place to go according to Yelp topping 5600+ reviews with 4 stars.
On our last day, we decided to check out Chicago from the top of the 360 CHICAGO Observation Deck which is 1,000 feet high. The view was breathtaking and it was the perfect ending to our weekend.
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I’m not going to lie, I honestly didn’t know much about Chicago except for the fact that Chicago is the home of the six-time NBA champions, Chicago Bulls. Having a big brother who played basketball growing up, I quickly became a fan of basketball as I had no other choice but to watch basketball all season long during Michael Jordan’s era. I felt nostalgic seeing his famous jersey at the airport and I was so proud to be a Chicago Bulls fan.
Here’s a recap of what we did:
- Take a picture of Cloud’s Gate
- Sit on the lawn at Jay Pritzker Pavillion
- Explore Millennium Park
- Walk along the river at the Chicago Riverwalk
- Enjoy the view 360 views at 360Chicago
- Eat a Chicago-style deep-dish pizza
- Eat a hot dog at Portillo’s
Chicago has a special place in our hearts and we cannot wait to return and explore more of it. There are still a lot more places to see, great food to try, music to listen to, and more memories to make. Until we return again, it’s “see you again, Chicago!”
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