Home Again

We had the best time in Chicago! It wasn't as cold as we would have liked, but it was still tons of fun. Even the shopping wasn't as good as it usually is, but I can say the same for the stores around here too.

When we arrived on Saturday, the pilot announced it was 16 degrees, so that was a bit chilly. We checked into the hotel and immediately hit the streets. Walked all the way down Michigan Ave to the river and back again. Michigan Ave was a ZOO on Saturday. Wall to wall people and the traffic was nuts. We were tired from getting up at 4am, so we ate an early dinner and called it a night fairly early.

Sunday we spent the day walking Michigan Ave again and shopping. Didn't buy too much.

Monday we headed down State Street to the big Macy's there. The store covers an entire city block, so you can spend the entire day in there easily. We hit up a few stores around the area there too and then came back to have dinner at the Walnut Room. This is a big tradition for a lot of families, so lots of kids were there. We sat right by the tree, which was very pretty.

The Fairy Princess came around and sprinkled her fairy dust on us while we made our Christmas wish.

After dinner we walked over to the Christmas Market. It's very similar to what we've seen in Germany, so it's always fun.

Tuesday was our last day and and we had a few things we needed to go back for at certain stores. We had to make tracks fast since we had afternoon tea scheduled at 3:30 at The Drake. This is another long time Chicago tradition that I had never done, so we thought it would be fun.

It was a lot of fun but EXPENSIVE! Almost $100 for the two of us, so don't think I would do it again but glad I can say we did do it.

They had Christmas carolers and a harpist, so it was very relaxing way to spend an hour or so. The room is very pretty and the Christmas tree is probably my favorite.

Tea wasn't as filling as I expected it to be, so we went out and walked it off a bit. Took some more pics. This is by the tree at the John Hancock tower

After walking for an hour or two, we decided to get a slice of Chicago pizza before calling it for the night. We found the BEST pizza ever! True Chicago deep dish that was amazing. It was a real hole in the wall and you could tell it was full of locals. It's a good thing we didn't find this the very first night or we probably would have eaten pizza every single night. I think I am ruined for pizza around here now.

So yesterday was spent waiting in the airport and then a 4 hour flight home. Ron couldn't get out of a meeting and my mom tossed us over for a date, so we just took a taxi home. When we were done greeting the dogs, who were extremely happy to see us, I found some beautiful roses waiting for me.

I think Ron missed me as much as I missed him. It's good to be home again!