You know me, a list is a list..items have to be marked through and tasks accomplished…so it is with my bucket list. So, what destination is being crossed off my list, you ask? Since World events have taken a big black marker to Jerusalem, Egypt and the Nile, we are in Chicago.
Yes, Chi-town…bad, bad Elroy Brown, the South side of Chicago…the whole thing. Eddie grew up coming to Chicago multiple times a year on the trains with his Mother. When remembering his childhood, Marshall Field’s windows at Christmas, eating Lunch in the Walnut Room and going to the Field Museum are always the head of his list. As an adult, 3-4 times a year he would be in Chicago for business—-so there were tales of fine dining (it is Eddie, after all), field trips to golf courses, baseball games, theatre performance-not sure how this constituted business trips, but we all know, that was how Lawyer Eddie rolled. Fast forward, Chicago has long been on my list, but when I brought it up for a possible long weekend trip-it was too hot, too cold, too windy…pick your weather challenge. So, Chicago remained on my list….more of an Excel spreadsheet, with proposed dates, but it was on my list.
At this point, if I want or need something, Amazon delivers. The one thing Amazon can’t deliver is experiences….for that you need Master Card (we are all about the travel points).
With the Amazon page opened, Eddie asked in September (several weeks out) what I wanted for my birthday…he learned that the cost of forgetting was huge. I said…I want to go to Chicago. Believe it or not, he granted my wish. Not that he did any of the logistics, he did make restaurant suggestions (no reservations, just suggestions)-so on point for Eddie. Along the way, George caught wind of our travel plans…while he would never ask to be a plus one, his body language screamed “Me too!” . So, the three of us left the humid environment of Houston and traded it for the humidity of Chicago…and a long weekend of adventure and food, of course.
When we traveled to Canada last month, we thought we would see leaves changing colors. Nope, check your forestry maps, mostly evergreens. While there was a little orange, red and yellow, it was mostly green. I am not complaining mind you, just commenting. Fall in Houston is a season marked by leaves just turning brown and dying. With the heat of the summer, the brown leaf death was early…and may have extended to the entire tree…check your water bills for further information…good grief…$300-400 monthly bills. So, we got our Fall fix on the way from O’Hare to the city. Bright reds, oranges, yellow along with well landscaped entrances to areas. It was wonderful.
A word about the two United hubbed airports….IAH and ORD (O’Hare). Both are under major construction projects…for whatever reason our travels have not taken us through the newly renovated C terminal (GaTes 1-15). Good grief, there should be a public hanging of the architect that said let’s have high ceilings, bling, lots of hard surfaces…floors and windows, with shared gate areas and give lots of people microphones and minimal bathrooms. I miss the low ceiling affairs of old C. You knew where your gate was, and the announcements did not bounce all around the terminal and give you a headache. It made the calf scramble of Iceland look good. Fast forward to Terminal 1 at O’Hare-one of 5 United Terminals…good grief. Pretty new operation, quick and efficient. We were off the plane, through baggage claim and on the street looking for Taxi in 15 minutes, with a stop at one of the multiple bathrooms. Points to O’Hare. Eddie had painted a word picture of O’Hare…something worse than Newark. Hmmm, Eddie has been out of the travel game for a while.
We are staying at the Intercontinental Hotel on Michigan Avenue…an Eddie choice as it is centrally located, has that eau d’ powder puff that Eddie enjoys so much…and the cabbies know where it is. Despite Eddie’s dirty taxi, 2.5 hours to the city from O’Hare doom and gloom, we were at the hotel in less than 40 minutes, checked in and ready to roll by 1:45. Our first stop was a couple of blocks away for a quick nibble for lunch. We did not want heavy because we were going on a food tour at 5:30. So, we walked to Eataly…a two floor extravaganza of all things Italian. One part grocery, one part wine bar, one part restaurant and one part creative factory….you could watch sausage being made, cheese, pasta, bread, pizza, sweet treats, and gelato. You could purchase it already prepared, or buy the ingredients and dyi and get a couple bottles of Italian wine to go with it. So glad this is here not at home, between George and Eddie we could do some serious damage on pantry and refrigerator stocking. The “use in 2, 3, 4 days” would mean nothing, we would have food for weeks.
We walked back in a light rain and put our feet up for a bit before rendezvousing at the starting point of our Ultimate Food Tour. This is Chicago walking tour coupled with the food fare that comes to mind for the regular people…deep dished pizza, Chicago dog, Italian Beef Sandwich-wet or dunked, the original brownie, local brews…along with an history lesson of all the wonderful buildings that have old and new architecture styles. It was an exhausting evening (my step count was edging up at 15K) …I did not look at wiki before I came, so the history lesson was just that, a lesson. The names-while household in Chicago lore, are familiar, the legacy make Chicago unique. Oh, yeah, my favorite…Chicago Dog…with everything…
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