Happy Friday everyone!! Isn’t it always a great week when it is only 4 days because of a holiday weekend? I know I always love when that happens and holiday weekends are a good time to travel too because you don’t have to take as many days off of work. If you followed along on snapchat and instagram last month you know that I went to Chicago for a work seminar. That was my first time to go and I was ecstatic when I learned that it was going to be in the windy city. It was just the right time to go as I heard summers there are the best. After I had gone to New York in February I will not be partaking in Chicago anytime other than when it feels good outside, haha. I was there for 3 nights and got to explore the city when I first got in and also on Friday afternoon after the seminar was over. For only getting about a day and a half to walk around and explore, I will for sure want to go back again. The city is so great and had a ton to offer. I loved how you could be looking at all of the restaurants downtown in one direction and to turn around and Lake Michigan was in the other direction. Chicago was very lively and had a great culture and food scene. There were so many places I did not get to go to but did highlight the ones I went to below and some others I want to go to next time.

To Do

• Art Institute of Chicago – If you are going to Chicago you have to stop by this institute even if you never go to any art museums. I had not been to one since I was a little girl and I really enjoyed this. It is one of those things that when you get older you appreciate more. This is world famous and even has the American Gothic painting as well as some modern and abstract art that I liked.
• Explore the Parks – Chicago has so many parks that it is really hard to visit them all. The most famous one being Millenium Park where the infamous Bean is located. This is a must if you go to Chicago and even if you are just getting a fun selfie in front of this structure. This whole area has water areas for kids to play around in and the area always has something going on. Just next door at Grant Park is where Lollapalooza will take place in a couple of weeks and you will want to get prepared with a fun festival outfit like this.
• Go to Wrigleyville – If you can I would recommend going to a baseball game at Wrigley Field, but the timing was not right for me so unfortuantley I was not able to participate in this all American activity. I did get to venture over to Wrigleyville and went to some little sports pubs that were fun. This area is pretty chill and I would recommend it on a hot summer day
• Take in an amazing view – There are plenty of water taxis that go all down the river where you can also get an architecture tour while you are in the city. I personally walked everywhere and had about 20,000 steps when I was exploring. I liked walking down to the lake and just sitting there for a while and watching all of the boats and relaxing. This was such an incredible view with the city behind me and miles and miles of water in front of me. Just walking anywhere in this city you are bound to see something that you like.
• See a Comedy Show – A lot of people go to broadway shows here but I enjoy going to New York for that. I would recommend seeing a comedy show though. Second City is the big place where a lot of SNL stars got their big break and I have heard only great things about this place. Next time I come I will for sure do that!
• Explore the Gold Coast area – This area has great restaurants and I think it is so cute! The houses are amazing and the architecture is even better. It is not a huge touristy area and I think it is 10 times better than going to explore the Magnificent Mile. Maybe it was just me but I think there was nothing special to that street and there are so much better areas like this that are cute and not surrounded by thousands of people.

To Eat

• Deep Dish Pizza – Ok yes I had to put this one on the list because first of all I had never had a deep dish pizza and second because we are in Chicago. I went to Giordano’s because it was right by my hotel I was staying in. Some people say this is good, others say that there are so many better places to go. Regardless of the debate between best deep dish just trying one at some point is key.
• Pump Room – This restaurant was located in the Gold Coast area and I loved it here. The interior was pretty amazing with all of the big bulb light fixtures and gave it a sexy vibe inside. You will probably want to have reservations for sure at this place as it can get pretty crowded on the weekends. The cocktails and food were great and the scene was even better. I had just several appetizers including tuna tartare and some flat bread pizzas. As you can see pizza was a theme on this trip.
• Tavern on Rush – I met some people in Chicago who recommended this fun place for brunch. I walked past it on my way to Pump Room and it looked very lively. It was a scene and be seen kinda place. If you are familiar with Houston and have been to Brasserie 19 I heard it was very similar to that. I would try it out if I had more time there.
• Chicago Dog – I am not a huge hot dog fan so I did not get the essential Chicago dog. If I had gone to a game at Wrigley Field I would have had to, just to be American. This is something you could live without because I feel like there are so many other great options, but if you love hot dogs by all means try one!
• RM Champagne – This place was on my list and I ran out of time 🙁 I would go here for happy hour and just stay for dinner as well. The place looked so cute to go with your girlfriends and order some steak frites or perhaps some lobster deviled eggs. The menu looks amazing and the interior and champagne even better!

To Drink

• Expat – This is another place that I didn’t get to try but wanted to. They sell alcoholic snow cones here which is mind blowing to me. A lot of bars here in the summer are outdoors or rooftops and when everyone is trying to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible, these snow cones would be great to have.
• Signature Room at the 95th – This bar at the top of the John Hancock building gets you your views while still sipping a fancy cocktail. Sure you could go to the Sears tower but coming to this bar I feel like is 10 times better. The drinks aren’t that cheap, but getting a view like this makes it even better. When it is a nice sunny clear day you can see for miles away. They also have a restaurant below as well that has just as amazing views.
• The Hampton Social – I had heard about this place from several people and have seen the famous picture of rose all day and just had to check it out. It is located in River North and has a great vibe. I went during happy hour time and sat at the bar. There was a musician singing and playing the guitar and the decor as you could guess was all Hampton chic. I had some glasses of rose and oysters and would highly recommend this place even if it is to steal that amazing photo op.

There are so many great options for Chicago to do, eat and drink. I am hoping to go back again with some friends since I was solo on this trip. It was a friendly city to explore and very trendy in my opinion with amazing culture. Hope you liked this round up and leave some more recommendations in the comments below 🙂