Second City

Nate and I just got back from Chicago and we had a wonderful time! Our purpose for going was to celebrate our friend Jill's wedding to Dan, but as an added bonus, we got to explore a city we've never been to and catch up with college friends we haven't seen in too long. We flew in late Friday night, checked into the Hyatt Regency and hit the sack. We got up early Saturday morning and headed down to the Gold Coast to meet up with our tour group. About a month ago, we signed up for a food walking tour through some of the neighborhoods in Chicago. It was great because we not only got out of the touristy downtown area, but really good to see the Chicago that people live in. We spent the next 4 hours covering 4 miles and lots of tasty shops. We started at a Kosher Deli and tasted the most delicious reuben sandwich either of us had ever had (in all fairness, it was the first reuben sandwich I'd ever had). 

Then we moved on to a Tea shop, where we tasted and got a lesson on how to chose and prepare loose tea. 

After that, we walked to Old Town and visited a Spice Shop that your could smell down the block. Nate picked up some spices to make his Indian food with and I enjoyed tasting the 20 different kinds of salt they had. 

Then we moved to a Olive Oil and Balsamic shop. We spent a lot of time mixing and matching the oils to make the best combos. Our personal favorite is Basil Olive Oil and Strawberry Balsamic. We bought some and think it will make the best salad dressing!

We moved on to The Chocolate Pot, which has been family owned for more than 40 years, where we tried the most incredible toffee. 

Our final stop was down in Lincoln Park at a neighborhood pizza place. I tried my first stuffed pizza and was pleasantly surprised! 

After our tour we caught a cab back downtown to get ready for the big wedding. Jill looks beautiful, which was no surprise to anyone, and she and Dan looks so happy for the day to finally be here. The evening was spent celebrating and catching up with old friends. 

Sunday we slept in and decided to  go see and take some pictures of The Bean. 

It was starting to get really busy, so we got out of crazy, packed downtown. We headed back out to Old Town, but not before stopping at Portillo's for some yummy hot dogs. Definitely some of the best we've had.

Later that day we met up with Kate and Scott, friends from college to walk around. 

We tried Navy Pier, but the sheer amount of people scared us off that tourist trap. 

We decided to grab our other friends, Matt and Liza and get some pizza at Bacino's. Our eyes were definitely bigger than our stomachs and we ended up with lots of leftovers. After dinner, we walked the two miles back downtown and got a sweet treat at the Hershey store. Unfortunately, Nate had a little too much ice cream and got a tummy ache. We decided to call it a night and went back to the hotel.

It was a great trip and both Nate and I really liked Chicago. The weather was perfect and I really feel like we saw a lot of the city. We're looking forward to going back someday, and will definitely bring Avery.