Some of our favorite “spots” in the “Windy City”

Chicago is one of our absolute favorite cities. We have been there together twice and both times were in the middle of winter. It is a true testament to the charm of this great city that it is one of our favorites even though both of our trips were FREEZING. On both trips we feel in love with the Millennium Park area and there famous “Bean” statue. This fairly new sculpture has become an instant favorite amongst both locals and travelers. The sculpture is actually called “sky gate”, or something like that, but it has been dubbed “The Bean.” It sits in the middle of the square and is a huge bean shape sculpture made entirely of reflective glass, aluminum or something similar. The bean is so large you can easily walk underneath it with no problem. Although its size is impressive it is the way everything reflects off of its surface that makes it so fantastic. Not only can you walk up and see your own reflection but almost the entire city can be scene in the reflection as well. Depending on were you are standing you will see numerous angles of the cities incredible skyline. It is especially impressive at night when the city lights add another level of color to the reflection. Lindsay and I love to simply hang out by “The Bean” to take in the fantastic urban scene all around us. Adjacent to this area are numerous parks, an ice skating rink, etc which makes it just a fantastic place to hang out.
In addition to “The Bean” and the Millenuim Park area Lindsay and I love “The Miracle Mile.” The shopping is amazing (we always end up raking up the credit card charges) but the architecture and street scene are even better. On both trips we walked up and down the Miracle Mile marveling at such great architectural gems as the Tribune Tower, Wrigley Tower, Water Tower, John Hancock Center, etc, etc. As a side note…Lindsay’s first night in Chicago was without me as I was meeting her the next day after a business trip. I arranged for the hotel she was staying at to get her a “room with a view” and they did not disappoint. She ended up on a very high floor overlooking the river and both the Tribune and Wrigley buildings. Anyway, on one particularly cold day in January we decided to head up to the observation deck of the John Hancock Center. Not only is this an architectural landmark but is has also been one of my favorite buildings since I first saw it when I was young. After a short ride on the extremely fast elevators we were greeted with a spectacular view of the city. You could see all of Lake Michigan, The Loop and of course The Miracle Mile. We loved the view so much that we even came back the next night so that we could see the same view but with the city lights. This was particularly memorable as there is one area of the observation deck that allows you to walk outside. As we did this we could feel the freezing cold breeze on our faces and could hear the constant hum of the city below us.
Millennium Park, The Bean, Miracle Mile and the John Hancock Center are just a few of our favorite “spots” in the amazing city of Chicago. We have also found a couple of restaurants that we just love. One was a pizzeria serving traditional style Chicago Pizza and the other was an old Irish pub a few blocks off of the Miracle Mile. We can’t wait to make it back to this incredible city again…hopefully in the summer. :)