Chicago

I Love Chicago!  I can’t even remember the number of times I’ve been there.  I traveled to the big city with my parents when I was young, went there with friends when I was in college, spent my honeymoon there, and always jump at the opportunity to return.  In recent years, I’ve enjoyed visiting Chicago even if it is just for an overnight or for one day while traveling there on a tour bus.  It’s a great way to sit back and relax, sleep, read, work on lap projects and not have to worry about where you are going to park the car and maneuver the traffic.

As you can probably guess, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Lincoln Park Zoo are favorite hot spots for me.  Borders Bookstore on Michigan Avenue used to be on the top of my priority list until it closed.  On a bus trip in October, 2011, the women on the bus could not quite figure out how I did so much in one afternoon.  I had my list and once we arrived at the hotel (late morning), I dropped my bag, walked a block over to Michigan Avenue and headed via bus for the Field Museum.  After spending a couple of hours touring some exhibits on my list, I headed out for a long walk along Michigan Avenue, all the way back to the hotel.  Luckily, the weather was great!  I hit Fanny May candies, Garretts popcorn, Trader Joes, Crate and Barrel, Ghiridelli and a couple of places at the Water Tower shops, before getting back to the room in time to change and meet the ladies for dinner and a play.  I sure slept well that night.

I’ve stayed at a lot of different hotels in Chicago from the Red Roof Inn near Water Tower (skip that one), Palmer House, Conrad Hilton to the Ritz Carleton at Water Tower Place (nice if someone else is paying the bill).  On the October, 2011 bus excursion, we were put at the Seneca Hotel at 200 E. Chestnut Street.  It overlooks the Water Tower Place and you cannot beat the location.  Unfortunately, about a year after I was there, the property was sold and became expensive condominiums. 

May, 2024

 

In May, 2024, I did an overnight bus trip with a good friend.  We stayed at the Fairfield Inn & Suites on E. Ontario.  It was a nice hotel in a good location, but we were disappointed at how many stores had closed in the main downtown area, including at the Water Tower Place mall.  We didn’t have enough time for the Lincoln Park Zoo on this trip but did manage to get in an architectural boat tour of the river and some great pizza on day one as well as time at Navy Pier on day two.