A Look Back - Chicago

During the holidays is absolutely the best time to travel to ANY big city.

They dress those cities up to the nines during that time of the year.

Everything is glittering, twinkling, and sparkling. Everyone is a little bit friendlier...

Chicago was absolutely no exception. I love the big city vibe.

It makes me feel all tingly inside. It wasn't quite NY though. I think I will always

be a New York girl, at heart. Nothing quite lives up to it... nothing ever will.

Once we boarded the Virgin America flight (FABULOUS, ROCKIN'

Airline by the way... I loved it!) and we were on vacay mode all my worries and

day to day stresses just melted away and I enjoyed every second of my 32nd birthday trip...

Day 1   

Giordano's Pizza

Walked Michigan Ave. for the first time.

The first picture of us...

Our Chicago pizza experience was totally not what I was hoping for. I've always heard

of the great debate, Chicago vs. NY pizza... NY pizza wins HANDS DOWN!

The stuffed pizza had no taste and it was a too little mushy for my taste. The dough had no flavor!

Day 2    

We took a cab to State St. where we walked and shopped at some of the department stores.

We ended up at Macy's where we wanted to eat lunch at the Walnut Room but the wait was WAY too long - 3 hours!! That's crazy. Serendipity - love that word! - happened when we walked upon the Frontera Fresco. Basically, its a fast food version of the restaurant we'd tried to get into that morning but couldn't get a reservation. Our lunch was SO good and I had the BEST Prickly Pear Margarita(s)!

I was introduced to Frango Chocolates.

I'd never heard of these before but Jaclyne, my favorite foodie,

always knows little secrets pleasures within whatever city we

are traveling. I think I finished all the souvenir boxes we bought

for our families before we even got on the plane to go home...

Next we walked to Cloud Gate Park - The Bean as we liked to call it...

   

We went to  RL for dinner and then headed to the John Hancock Building for dessert and drinks.

The view was perfect. We couldn't have asked for a better night to see the entire city...

Day 3

Navy Pier

We hit up Garrett's Popcorn, another Oprah find, to get some popcorn to bring

home to Eric and the kids. From there, we took a cab to Harpo Studios - such a lovely moment for me.

Although, I'm sure it would've felt different if Oprah was still taping her show there, it was still

a pretty cool thing to be seeing in real life, the building and the streets that I'd been watching

on Oprah Behind the Scenes...

We tried to inquire about going to see the Rosie show before we left to go back home, but a lady at

the door was very negative and said that they were booked through the end of the year and we

wouldn't be able to get tickets. Jaclyne called our hotel concierge to get the
tickets for us because that girl won't take no for an answer...

Needless to say, she got us into the Rosie show.

Girl & the Goat for an early dinner

I wasn't that impressed with this restaurant. There were a couple of good dishes,

but as a vegetarian, the choices were very limited... I'm glad we went and experienced it though.

I recently saw a Rosie Show where she had the owner of this restaurant on and
I have to say, it is always a nice feeling to see places I've been on tv.

It feels like I'm getting out there and spreading my wings.

Later that night we went to Avec for drinks and dessert- amazing focaccia with taleggio cheese, ricotta, truffle oil and fresh herbs - I have never tasted something so good...

Day 4

Frontera Grill (the real one, this time) for lunch...really good food. Rick Bayliss is a culinary genius.

Molly's Cupcakes

Of all the cupcakes I've ever had, and as a self-professed cupcake lover,

I've had a lot - this one is by far my very favorite. Chocolate chip cookie dough cupcake...

Sear's Tower

Next we went shopping and took a walk down Michigan Ave. before going to get ready

for our highly anticipated dinner at Table 52...

Table 52  Art Smith, who was also Oprah's chef for many years, owns this gem.

Dear god that was a heavenly restaurant.

The food was amazing. It was gorgeous inside. Brought me instantly back to the south.

Seriously, Jaclyne must have said, "This is SO good!" at least 40 times during our meal.

She even wrote it on the signed credit card receipt...

The only blip of that entire night was when we were leaving the restaurant.

I missed a step of the stairs going out of the front doors and I FELL.

Hard. In front of the hostess, the valet guy and everyone else who could see.

It hurt a lot but I could not stop laughing. Jaclyne was laughing so hard

that she accidentally grabbed the hostesses boob. We're a classy pair, us two.

But the laugh until you cry, and get an abdominal workout at the same time

kind of laugh was so needed and welcomed... I think I laughed for 3 blocks,

in the rain, mind you... I laughed until we had to duck into a Barnes n' Noble

to hide from the storm. Where I went into the bathroom to check out the damage

and laughed some more by myself in the stall.

Day 5

The next morning we woke up early to go see the Rosie Show.

I love seeing the behind-the-scenes of tv show tapings. It was a long wait from

when we got there in the morning but they were kind and it went quickly.

They even gave us water bottles and Sprinkles cupcakes while we waited!

The guests were Roseanne Cash and an 80 year grandma basketball player.

I enjoyed Rosie. I love her humor and I love her generosity. I love the way she

feels and the immensity of her love and passion.

Waiting in line to get in the studio.

It was an amazing trip that I will surely never forget.

We ate well, laughed heartily, crossed another city off our list, and

we personally got to see why the Windy City is named as such.

Chicago, I'll be back some day...