Girls Trip Day 3: Destination Chicago

Today is Day 3 of the Chicago Trip. Veronica and I worked out this morning. I got a better workout today. We didn't stop in for breakfast since we still had some left over from yesterday.

Today we toured two museums and finish up on last minute shopping. First thing we wanted to do was tackle the Art Institute of Chicago; they had several exhibits Veronica and I wanted to check out. We arrived too early and decided to shop at the Architect Museum which was a block away. I picked up a book for my Goddaugter, Elisa. I hope she will enjoy it. We then walked back over the museum where a line started to gather. I go even more excited when I saw that they had an Impressionism collection upstairs. I spent almost 1 hour up there and 30 minutes staring at my favorite Impressionism painting - On the Bank of Seine by Monet. I teared up when I saw the painting.

Afterwards I headed downstairs for the Gods and Glamour exhibit. One of my favorite world history was Byzantine Era and my favorite myths are those of Greek Gods. I found this quote written on the walls where they had dinnerware that came from that era:

We then took a quick Trolley Tour - as part of the Hop On & Off Tour - and ventured into Chinatown, Little Italy (only consist of 2 blocks) and Greek Town (3 stores worth). I dozed off after seeing Little Italy. After hopping off the tour, which ended in Millennium Park, we headed over to Tavern in the Park for Lunch. I had Mac 'n' Cheese while the girls had sandwiches. You should go here for for their famous pear infused vodka which they make themselves. The large jar sits on the counter behind the bartenders. After lunch we headed out to Chicago History Museum where I learned about playboy bunnies, the Great Chicago fire, and Prohibition era. It was a way from downtown, so take the taxi if you can - $10 fare.

We then headed for more souvenir shopping and headed over the Chicago Cultural Center which was located directly across from the Millennium Park. If you get the chance to visit Millennium Park, head over the Cultural Center, the inside is breath-taking.

View from bottom up

View from top down

After getting our fill of marble and stone, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our last dinner in Chicago. We booked a couple of restaurants a week prior to our trip. We decided to stick with Prosecco Restaurant. All fancied up in our cute dresses, we walked 4 blocks up and 2 block over. We were greeted by a tiny narrow restaurant with sophisticated Italian decor. We checked in and made our way to the bar for drinks. I ordered a non-alcoholic lemon drink while Veronica and Lily ordered Prosecco and fruit blended cocktails. A few minutes later we were escorted to our table. The waiter presented us with a complementary glass of Prosecco which I thought was awesome. I ordered the best veal meal I've ever had. It was bread crusted with a side of spinach and mashed potatoes. I loved it! It was my favorite meal out of Chicago. We finished the night with gelato, I got the cappuccino flavor and the girls each got the banana & chocolate flavor.

Tonight I packed my suitcase and carefully placed the souvenirs inside. I packed 3 boxes of fudge, 3 books, 3 souvenir shirts, 1 toddler onesie, and 1 picture frame. My suitcase didn't look any more stuffed than it did when I got into Chicago. I changed my flight plans for tomorrow a few months ago. I was asked by my brother's friends to officiate their wedding for them so I changed my flight to a morning flight. Otherwise I would have flown out at 5pm and enjoyed brunch with the girls. But at this moment I am ready to go home. It has been an amazing trip. Tomorrow, I will not be blogging my trip home. It should be easy: take Red Line to Blue Line. Take Blue Line straight into O'Hare Airport. Fly direct to SFO and take shuttle from SFO to SJC. Take Light Rail on Brokaw Rd. to home.

One more trip down! Next will be my road trip to Florida where I will be moving to. Yes, you heard it, I am moving to Florida to be with my fiancé. He is the best thing to happen to me and I can't imagine my life without him.

Girls Trip Day 2: Destination Chicago

Good Day Chicago! Here I am on Day 2 of Chicago with my girlfriends. Today is Friday. Veronica and I decided to work out this morning. I wanted to enjoy the food and not gain any weight since I have a wedding the Sunday I fly back. The hotel's gym was small but efficient enough for us. After working out, Veronica and I stopped by the breakfast room where we grabbed bagels, toasts, yogurts, and fruits to bring back to our rooms. After showering, we headed to one of the Hop On & Off Tour stops - which was a few blocks from our hotel - and we caught the Signature Tour. There was so much architecture history in the tour and it was completely worth taking.

                                                             

We then stopped into the famous Sears Tower now known as Willis Tower. We took the elevator to the 106th floor where I pushed Lily - who had a fear of heights - into the glass boxes that extends a little over 4 feet out of building to give the person standing in the box the feeling of floating 1,353 feet in the air. The view was nice, but I have jumped out of a plane 15,000 feet in the air before so this is nothing compared to that.

By afternoon, the sun came out and we headed to Millenium Park where the famous Cloud Gate a.k.a. The Bean was housed along with the Jay Pritzker Pavillion where free concerts were held.

After visiting Millenium Park, we headed back towards our hotel for lunch at Lou Malnati's. They are famous for their deep dish Chicago pizza. Veronica and I shared the Lou deep dish and Lily created her own. The pizza was not what I expected, I am a NY style pizza kind of girl, but the crust on the Lou wasn't heavy on the bread side so I enjoyed it. Not the best pizza I had, but still better than the deep dish I've had in California.

We took a break at our hotel where I took a 30 minute nap. After the nap we headed back out and headed to do some souvenir shopping. The Hop On & Off Tour also gave us discounts to free samples and t-shirts. We took the opportunity to learn the train systems and found some neat gift shops. We then headed back to the hotel to get ready for "Let Them Eat Chaos" at The Second City famous for producing comedians as Tina Fey, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and John Candy. The show was hilarious, but the venue was small and they stuffed us like sardines. We took the taxi back since we got out a little before midnight and didn't want to deal with drunks on the L train. It was a $10 ride ($7 + tip).

Today I found out that I am great at figuring public transportation out, especially subways and trains. See you tomorrow!

Girls Trip Day 1: Destination Chicago

My little sister Lucy dropped me off at 10:30pm last night in SFO. I got through security check real quick and seated myself at Gate 27. Not long thereafter, I received a call from American Airlines informing me of my flight's delay. At midnight, an agent got on the intercom and announced that due to thunderstorms in Dallas, our flight will now depart at 3am and all our connecting flights will also be delayed. I went over to the agent and asked if there was a direct flight I could take from SFO to Chicago. The agent checked and said all flights are full but he can place me on standby at 6am. I didn't want to risk the flight so I stuck to the original plan.

I walked back to my seat and closed my eyes. As I slowly drifted to meditation-land, I heard a loud shout. I opened my eyes. It came from an man who looked in his late 40s. I then see a young woman walk away from the man. The man followed the young woman who had reached our agents at the podium. She then started crying saying that the man following her is harrassing her. As the man approached the young woman, the agents told the young woman to get behind them. The agent who tried to assist me earlier got on the phone and called the police. Meanwhile, a female agent told the man to stop where he is at. The man then said the young woman is overacting. The female agent pointed to the ceiling were a security camera was mounted. She informed the man that there are cameras all around and it will show what he did to the young woman. The man walked away. The young woman then told the agents that she was laying on the chairs when the man came up to her and starting shouting at her. That was when she got up and walked towards the agent. 5 mins later, a supervisor showed up along with a police officer. The young woman took a seat and the man was apprehended.

I finally departed at 3am from SFO. I arrived in Dallas at 8am. When I checked my phone for an update on my departure to Milwaukee, I noticed the system deleted my ticket and issued me an evening flight. I ran over to the nearest agent and informed him of the change and he went onto the system and told me that was how I booked it and there is nothing he could do. I told him I did not book the evening flight, but he just rolled his eyes and told me with a stern and condescending voice that I booked it and the computer shows that I booked it that way. For a second I did question myself, but then thought, "no, that is not like me." So I pulled up my original itenery where it showed I did have a 7am flight. When I showed it to the agent, he stuck to what he said earlier and said that I was wrong, what he has on his screen is correct and my email is fake. I was so frustrated I asked for the supervisor. He directed me across the room to a woman wearing a checkered vest. I walked up to the supervisor and told her what happened. She looked into the system and found that due to the delays, the computer deleted my flight out of Dallas and when it reseted, it replaced my flight with an evening one. She then assisted me with obtaining a flight that is now leaving at 11:20am. I thanked her and walked off to gate C27. Since I was in Terminal B, I had to take a tram to Terminal C.

View out of the Tram from Terminal B to C

After arriving at my gate, I decided to use the restroom to refresh myself. When I got back to the gate, I looked up and saw that the display behind the agent had changed it's flight information. I looked over  at the main departure and arrival computer screen and saw that my gate was moved to across the other end of the terminal. Since I had 2 hours before my next flight I walked over to the new gate. After sitting there for 30 minutes, the gate was then moved again to the other end of the terminal. 30 minutes after that, I was moved once again. I finally settled myself on the floor against the wall that faced the gate. I fixated my eyes on the display screen praying that it won't change again. But it did, this time, the departure time has been delayed due to plane equipment. By that time, I was mentally exhausted. I just wanted to get to Chicago.

The plane finally came 1 hour after it's original set time. I arrived in Milwaukee at 12:54pm and found my way down to the island where USA Coach was going to pick me up. The bus comes every hour so by the time I made my way to the pick up spot, I only had to wait 10 minutes before the next bus came. I spoke to an older gentleman who was also caught in the Dallas fiasco and all he wanted to do is get home to Seattle, but he had to catch his connection at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. His trip was supposed to take him from Dallas to Seattle; he was supposed to be home by 11am today. The only direct flight from Dallas to Seattle is tomorrow morning, so he opted to fly into Milwaukee, drive into Chicago, fly into San Francisco, and finally connect to Seattle where he will be home by 9pm tonight. As we boarded the bus, I sat in the first row opposite from the driver and the older gentleman sat in the first row on the driver's side. The bus driver began with small talk to the older gentleman asking him where he was headed. The gentleman said Seattle and the driver said, "OK." I then joked out loud, "OK? Does that mean that we are driving to Seattle?" That got the driver and several of the passengers to laugh. It has been a long day for all of us.

View out of coach bus from Milwaukee to Chicago

Milwaukee was supposed to be a 1.5 hour drive. But with traffic, it took us 2 hours. I arrived at O'Hare Airport around 3pm and boarded the L train's Blue Line at 3:30pm. After taking the Blue Line to Jackson, I transferred to the Red Line heading North and exited Grand where I walked 1 block to our hotel. I finally arrive at the Hampton Inns & Suite at 5:30pm. 

I hugged Lily and Veronica right as they opened the door. I told them the horror in Dallas and was so glad to be in Chicago. I then took a look at our suite and it was gorgeous. When you walk through the font door, the bathroom is the immediate right. Take a few steps up and you will be in the kitchen that has an island with high chairs. 

Next steps will take you to the dining room where a round table sat under a large modern hanging lamp. You turn to the right and you will be in the living room with 1 long couch and 2 side chairs bordered the large windows. A large flat screen TV sits on a stand and to the left of it is a computer desk and a large mirror. To the left of the desk are french doors to our bedroom. The spacious bedroom had 2 queen beds - nicely spaced apart - a vanity area, a large closet with sliding doors, and a dresser with a large flat screen TV on top. Next to the vanity area is the door to the bathroom, this is the same bathroom that can be access by the front door. Lily and I will share a bed, as always, and Veronica will have her own. I took over the top dresser drawer and all of the closet. When I stay at a hotel, I like to empty my suitcase to know what I have available.

We had until 6pm to catch the night tour so I took a quick shower and we walked to one of the stops for the Hop On & Off Tour offered by the Chicago Trolley & Double Decker Company.We purchased the tickets online a week prior to our trip. We can hop on and off at any of the stops with unlimited rides for 3 days. We were supposed to take the Signature tour but because I got in so late we had to do the night tour which was a lot shorter. Our tour guide this evening was horrible, but the ride itself was worth it. We got a general idea of what the city layout was. Tonight was a very cold, especially when you sit on the top of the double decker where the wind blew cold icy air in your already wet hair. After the tour the girls and I decided to catch dinner near the Hancock Center - it has the Signature Lounge where you can enjoy cocktails on the 96th floor.   

Lily found a restaurant called Francesca on Chestnut. It was a total gem. Our waitress, Jackie, was the greatest! The restaurant was not packed, but it wasn't bare either; we were seated immediately upon arrival. When Lily and Veronica were carded for ordering cocktails, our waitress Jackie almost fell to the floor. She could not believe we were 30 years old, we looked 20 to her. We told her we were in Chicago to celebrate our 30th birthday and Jackie just shook her head in amazement of how well we aged. She walked away confused. Francesca's menu was very small, but the chef was flexible. He was able to accommodate my spicy spaghetti and change a few ingredients out for Lily's dish. All three of us were satisfied with our meals and sat there talking about what we wanted to do tomorrow. As the restaurant staff took our plates away, Jackie came back with two other staffs who were carrying small desserts with a single lit candle on top. I was so surprised that I forgot to take a picture. After thanking Jackie for the sweet gesture, we dug into our birthday dessert, but before taking a bite, Jackie stopped us and told us to stay where we were - none of us were going to leave anyways. 5 seconds later Jackie reappeared with 3 house-made limoncello. I don't drink anymore so I gave Jackie my shot. We toasted with Jackie and finished our cream puff filled with vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate.

We then headed to the Hancock Center where we took the elevator to the 96th floor to the Signature Lounge.

We were seated close to the wide glass windows that overlooked the city. It had a spectacular view and I can't describe in words what it was like to look back out at the city tonight and finally feel that I am here. I ordered a mocktail while Lily and Veronica ordered cocktails. After an hour we decided to head back to our hotel and call it a night. I was tired from this morning's horrible experience with American Airlines, but so happy to be in Chicago with the girls. I can't wait for tomorrow's adventure. Good night!

Pre-Chicago Trip

It has been a few months since my last travel blog. Today, I am preparing for my Chicago trip with the company of two wonderful girl friends, "Lily" and Veronica. None of us have been to Chicago before and thought it was a great city to visit for 4 days and 3 nights. To prepare for the trip we set aside a budget and were verbal about our expenses. I was open to spend an "x" amount of money and not have to stay in hostels and eat hot dogs. The budget for the Lily and Veronica were the same. We also tackled what we wanted out of our trip: 1) Museum visit, 2) City tour, 3) Hancock Observatory, 4) Second City Imrov, 5) Formal and Upper class dinning experience, and 6) SHOPPING!

I am known for my expert packing skills. I spent 3 weeks travelling by train with a backpack of electronics and a duffel bag of clothes that could be worn for cold snowy weather and warm beach weather. After all the flying I've done, I have learned to pack light and efficiently. This trip is no different. I will be packing 4 outfits for our day out, 1 pair of pjs, 1 pair of workout clothes, 1 evening dress, 1 evening outfit, 1 blazer, 1 jacket, 1 umbrella, 2 pairs of shoes, 2 pairs of flip flops, 4 pairs of under garments, and my personal toiletries. There should be enough room for gifts and souvenirs.

Here is how I pack:

1) I lay out want I want to bring.

Shoes & umbrella

PJs and Workout clothes

Day and Night outfits

All-Weather Jacket

2) I pack shoes first because they are the heaviest. I also throw a bag on top of the shoes to prevent them from dirtying the rest of my clothes.

3) Then, I layout all my shirts/tops and stack them on top of each other. I fold the sides in to make it narrow.

4) Then, I roll from top to bottom. I end up with a roll. Add to suitcase.

5) Next, I stack my pjs and work out clothes and roll them up. Add to suitcase.

6) I roll pants/bottoms individually and add to suitcase.

7) I then add my personal toiletries and make up bag.

8) Now for the 3rd level, I add easily accessible jacket/blazer, clutch, and umbrella.

That's all it takes. This will be my carry-on along with a cross-body bag to carry my wallet and phone.

I will be leaving for SFO tonight. My flight out is a red eye at midnight. It was cheaper for me to fly into Milwaukee than it was to fly into either airports in Chicago; $200 cheaper. From Milwaukee I have several options to get into Chicago: 1) Amtrak train or 2) shuttle service. I chose option 2 which would cost me $28. I reserved a seat for pick up at 11AM from Milwaukee Airport and drop off at O'Hare Airport in Chicago. From there I can catch the subway to meet up with Lily and Veronica who are both arriving together at Midway Airport in Chicago. Lily purchased a 3 day Chicago subway pass for the 3 of us. She got the deal on Groupon and it activates when you first use it. We'll see how much use we will get out of it.

Well, I will blog more tomorrow. See you then!