Memorial Weekend

Memorial Weekend this year was spent in one of our favorite places. Friday evening we spent time with Dave’s family in Iowa. Saturday morning we left Drew to spend the weekend with grandparents, aunt, uncles and cousins while we headed to Chicago for a date weekend. These are some of the highlights…

We wanted to stay on the Magnificant Mile to be close to Chicago’s best shopping, restaurants, museums and Dave booked it through Priceline for a great rate. We stayed at the Marriot, which had a Michigan Ave address, but only for a walk-in entrance to the hotel. The main entrance and check in circle drive were on the other side of the building on Rush Ave, which was deceiving. The bathrooms were a little dated, but the bed was awesome and the room was fine. For the little time we spent there it was perfect.

We went through the Trump Tower, still under construction, which was beautiful. The only Apprentice season I’ve seen was the first one when Donald selected the person to oversee the construction of this building. Sunday morning we went there to check out their lunch menu at Sixteen, Trump’s restaurant on the 16th floor, and they were serving brunch. Ceiling to floor views overlooked downtown, and the interior is contemporary and posh. Brunch was buffet style across three separate tables and included king crab claws and sushi, among other delicacies. We were entertained just touring the area and may have to splurge on it during a future trip.

Second City was sold out unfortunately. We even went there to get on the waiting list but didn’t get in. It was still fun seeing picture of Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, John Billushi, John Candy, Tina Fay and other SNL stars.

Gino’s Pizza is a must during each trip we make to the city. We don’t go for the atmosphere of red and white-checkered vinyl tablecloths, paper plates and plastic silverware (this location didn’t have a dishwasher) but the pizza is always out of this world.

Shopping along and around Michigan Avenue is fun for the people watching and window shopping, occasionally going into some stores. White separates and dresses are big this season. Such a fresh, crisp look. Anthropology had some cute ones among other fun clothes for spring. Barnes & Noble is one of my favorite stores no matter where I am. I picked up the book “Just Me and My Dad” for father’s day from Drew. Garmin on the Magnificant Mile was busy with people trying out the latest Garmin gadgets. I was impressed they offer an hour of personal training when you purchase a GPS from them. We couldn’t resist the Disney Store and bought the Little Einsteins remote controlled Rocket and Mickey Mouse PJ’s for Drew.

Flatwater was my favorite new place on this trip. We sat on the patio overlooking the banks of the Chicago River, listened to a jazz band, and had the most amazing baked brie with an apricot and walnut chutney. I would love to find the recipe.

The Chicago Cubs game we went to was another highlight, and not just because they beat the Dodgers 3:1. We had our first experience scalping a ticket outside Wrigley stadium since had originally planned on bringing Drew.

Spiaggia is one of our favorite Italian restaurants. The atmosphere is beautiful yet casual, the menu is excellent, and the service ‘impeccable in its anticipation’ as the website says, and we agree.

The Chicago River Architectural Tour was fascinating. We learned about the history behind many of the buildings along the river. My favorite is the Wrigley Building, which is art deco. Dave’s favorite is the modern Trump Tower. It was interesting to learn about the Spire now breaking ground. Details are being kept under wraps but it is rumored that it will be the tallest building in Chicago when it is complete in 2-3 years.

On our last night there we walked through Millenium Park, enjoying the free concert.

We came back exhausted but had a great time. We hope to catch up on our sleep this weekend…