Chi Town

What a great trip! I'm so glad I tagged along with Kate for her visa-getting stuff. The Megabus there was late (They had to use 2 coach buses.) and so we got there pretty late.I got extremely sick, probably from the half container of black bean salsa I ate with tortilla chips. Nothing would help, so I rode out the storm for 7 hours and finally got relief when I went to sleep. We got unlimited weekend Metra tickets and took the train out to Brookfield, where we stayed with my friend Lynette.

Thank goodness she picked us up at the station so we knew where to go for future walks to & from her place. Thankfully she had a bed for us. Good thing Kate doesn't have cooties so I could sleep next to her ;)

We woke up and went with Lynette & her boyfriend to take the Green Line into the city. We got off at the Roosevelt stop so we could chow down at the Bongo Room for brunch. I went there in May with Aaron & Kathrine when we went to see Kanye play in his hometown. I got Apple Pear French Toast, with brown-sugar crusted brioche in a apple-pear dried cherry compote with apple spice creme anglaise and toasted pecans. So, so, so good. Kate got carrot pumpkin pancakes with a vanilla bean creme anglaise. Hers was much richer than mine, so I got a nice amount of hers, too! We split delicious hash browns, red potatoes flavored with rosemary and olive oil. A photo from Kate:


We got 3-day CTA visitor passes and batteries for my camera at the Jewel-Osco underneath the L station and then hopped on an Orange Line for a trip around the loop so we could get off to go to the Art Institute. The wind was so fierce and it was so cold that I felt like it was the worst weather I had ever experienced. We got to the Art Institute and started at the top level and decided to work our way around the whole place. We DID get to every exhibit and area that was open. I was bummed that the contemporary wing was closed for renovations. It was crazy to realize that I was looking at paintings that people had created as much as 800 years ago. Some favorites:

Alberto Pasini - Circassian Calvary Awaiting Their Commanding Officer at the Door of a Byzantine Monument; Memory of the Orient

A Jackson Pollock

Grand Wood - American Gothic (This had been on loan when I went with my parents a couple of years ago)


We found our way back to Union Station & took the Metra back to Brookfield, only to have a horribly cold 20-minute walk back to Lynette's. They were watching Burn After Reading so we decided to join them. What a funny flick! Brad Pitt did an amazing job. I was honestly still stuffed from brunch so we didn't catch anything for dinner.

The next day was Kate's appointment at the French consulate. We had a long walk to the Metra station early in the morning, just to make sure we weren't delayed too long by the snow. The sun made it a lot more enjoyable of a walk. We had to wait 30 minutes because the train was delayed by snow (of course). We got into Union Station and took a bus to the consulate just in time to make it! We had to go back at 12:30 so we decided to eat a little and shop a little. I realized I hadn't eaten in 24 hours so we went to this weird buffet that charged by the pound. I got a nice variety of greens and fruits to get me through the day. We stopped at Macy's on State since it was close and we only had so much time. I got this delicious eggnog cupcake from Sarah's Pastries:

It was a nice spice cake with very rich eggnog buttercream frosting. There was as much frosting as cake, making it a little tough to eat and sickeningly sweet at the end. Overall though, delicious.

We headed back to the consulate (where I actually ate the cupcake) and got Kate's visa with no hassle. We then proceeded to shop our little hearts out. It was so nice to spend as much time as we wanted doing whatever we wanted. I think we spent over an hour at Nordstrom Rack, where I ended up buying a pair of white Pumas for working out and stuff. I didn't realize until just now how foolish it was of me to buy all white shoes when I can't even keep black shoes clean. We stopped at H&M, where I got a cute little green cardigan, and at Ulta, where I got my favorite body scrub of all time. My favorite stop was Macy's Merz Apothecary. We smelled ourselves silly with Burt's Bees and Demeter Fragrances and candles. Kate got some BB Peppermint Soap and I got a nice "Madagascar" candle for Lynette for letting us stay with her. I wrote a letter to Santa, too!

We came across the buildings featured on the cover of Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot


We decided to catch a bite to eat at this place we had been seeing everywhere, The Corner Bakery. I got a bowl of Zesty Chicken Tortilla Soup and a roll, while Kate got a panini and tomato soup. I finagled us a couple of extra rolls for free since they were so good.

Next we sought out "Cloud Gate", aka the Bean in Millennium Park. No one was there since it was so cold and windy and dark outside, so we had our run of the place.




We also saw where Barack Obama gave his big acceptance speech, which was really cool since it was so empty and desolate, having once been overflowing with people. We returned to Union Station, where growing crowds of stranded people were strewn about. Another cold walk back to Lynette's and we decided to hit the hay early.

Tuesday was our last day, with our bus leaving at 3:00. We wanted to take a pretty early train in so we had plenty of time to get sushi. We wanted to find a thrift shop and used book store, plus try Sweet Mandy B's cupcakes, but there just wasn't enough time to get everywhere by bus. Next time! The train was an hour late because of a medical emergency earlier in the morning. It was fun to watch it come in!

We had our sushi about noon at Thai Urban Kitchen, and it was honestly the best meal I think I have ever had. We ordered a "Sushi For Two" platter, with 6 california rolls, 6 shrimp tempura rolls, 6 spicy tuna rolls, 2 tuna, 2 super white tuna, 2 salmon, and 2 shrimp nigiri. SO MUCH SUSHI. I wish I had taken a picture of the platter, but I couldn't resist digging in immediately. We also got miso soup and delicious steamed dumplings of chicken and shrimp with my favorite sweet chili sauce. Definitely my favorite restaurant in Chicago, even over Bongo Room.

We stopped in at a CVS to grab snacks for the bus ride home, which were all pretty unhealthy. Two types of trail mix, fudge striped cookies, peanut butter cracker sandwiches, and a 1.5 liter bottle of water. CVS's in Chicago all sell all kinds of liquor. So weird for me. Another weird thing about Chicago: EVERYONE wears fur. We saw so many full-length fur coats. It was so gross. I hate fur coats. Ew.

The bus ride back was long and exhausting. Honestly, I was just glad that the big snowstorm aligned with our travel to make it the easiest possible. No blizzards while we were driving! I got in at 2 am, only to have to go to my apartment to get clothes for the next 3 days to stay at home for the holidays. Jackie was having tons of people over, all of whom I wanted to chat with and hang out with, but I was exhausted and my mom was waiting. Josh Moore informed me he had played a show in Chicago with You, Me, and Everyone We Know while I was there. I can't believe I missed him. It would have been a real treat.

I love Chicago. I can't wait to go back again. The bus ride is only $45 round trip and I always have Lynette to stay with for free. The trip was a nice 4-day escape from the world, just what I needed.