we spent this weekend in chicago for the wedding of some of our good dc friends. chicago is one of my favorite cities, which may have to do with the fact that i've only ever been there when the weather has been absolutely perfect. this weekend was no exception: 70 degrees and sunny the whole time. i love that the city is so clean, there are so many parks, restaurants, and museums, and i especially love the unique architecture. we had a blast exploring, trying some new restaurants, seeing lots of friends who we miss already, and dancing our poor feet off at the beautiful reception.
we stayed at the renaissance hotel downtown, which is a beautiful hotel in an absolutely perfect location. we walked nearly everywhere we went.
friday afternoon we wandered around the riverwalk, walked the magnificent mile to drool over the amazing stores, and stopped at the john hancock building. we went up to the observatory at sunset for some absolutely breathtaking views of chicago. we had a cocktail in the signature room on the 95th floor of the tower. the walls are all glass, providing a 360 degree view of chicago. catching these views right at sunset is such a treat!
see?
after our drinks, we took a thirty minute walk through downtown to shaw's crab house, a famous chicago seafood spot, which had come highly recommended to us. we had reservations for a table, but after taking one look at the lively oyster bar to the right of the restaurant's entrance, we decided we'd much rather eat at the bar. this was one of the best dates we have ever had! we ordered a sampling of small seafood plates -- raw oysters, crabcake sliders, buffalo shrimp, etc -- and washed it all down with champagne.
saturday morning we waited way too long for an average breakfast at yolk, and then wandered around beautiful millennium park and had some fun visiting the bean.
the wedding ceremony & reception were beautiful, and we danced to the amazing band with lots of fun friends all night long.
on sunday, we had a delicious brunch at the publican - highly recommended if going to chicago! this place is known for their meats, so i knew we were going to love it. since we had four people, we got to sit in a cool, barn-door enclosed booth. so hip.
the brunch menu is interesting & eclectic. ww and i both had the red wine poached eggs with prosciutto, and a side of the most delicious maple syrup flavored bacon i've ever had. look how thick it is!
there was also a plate of fried-egg-french-fries involved.
and some bloody marys and bottomless coffee cups.
and some bloody marys and bottomless coffee cups.
after waddling out of brunch, we made our way over to wrigley field to see the cubs play (and beat!) the pirates. it is such a cool experience to go to wrigley field. the stadium is so old-school compared to all other baseball fields i've been to, and you almost feel that you're on the field with the players.
beers, ice cream, and baseball made for a great sunday afternoon.
ciao, chicago! hopefully we will be back soon.
and congratulations to our friends emily & graham on a beautiful wedding weekend.
