Hey y’all! It’s me Jennifer, your favorite Verbal Gold Blogger/Photog extraordinaire… actually I have only written two blog posts so far so favorite photog maybe, favorite blogger probably not. Awe man, I feel sad now, you know what would make me forget that I didn’t miraculously turn into Man Repeller (fashion blogger, queen of all accessories) after two blog posts (now two and a quarter whoa I’m making moves) A Chicago dog. Or some deep dish pizza. Or Ferris Bueller. You know where you can find all of that awesomeness? THAT’S RIGHT FOLKS-CHICAGO.
I recently went on a weekend getaway to The Windy City with the hubs and some of my ridiculously good looking friends (peek the photo above, they are all abnormally attractive and when Brad and I are with them, we look like we wandered into a Calvin Klein ad and everybody was too polite to ask us to leave) plus it reminded me why Chicago is one of my favorite cities. There is so much to do in Chi town (as Kanye would say) but here are 7 of my absolute favorite things to do in the Windy City:
1. The Art Institute of Chicago.
So I could basically live in the Art Institute of Chicago, never leave and I would be completely content with life. It was the first major Art museum I ever visited as a child with my dad, and have always held a special place in my heart, mainly because they basically make it rain with Monet haystacks and lily pads. We seriously lucked out because there was a Van Gogh exhibit while we there and it was amazing. The Modern Art wing of the museum is also to die for. If you are into art or just like being surrounded by beautiful things, I would highly recommend spending at least a day or two in the museum-so many gorgeous collections in one place!
2. The Field Museum of Natural History.
Not only did there happen to be a Van Gogh exhibit while we were in town but there was also an exhibit featuring the Chinese terra-cotta warriors at the Field museum (gasp). I was nerding out and crossing stuff off my bucket list left and right. If you aren’t familiar with the terra-cotta soldiers, google it! (Hello, I’m not doing everything for you) but I promise you won’t be disappointed… and you will be jealous I got to see them in person;) The Field Museum not only had the soldier exhibit but it also had all types of cool stuff including ancient aztec artifacts, dinos and mummies. And cat mummies. And beetle mummies. Get outta here!
3. The Bean.
You can’t go to Chicago without taking a selfie with The Bean, come on duh. Everybody is doing it. Here is a little info on The Bean, aka Cloud Gate, for everyone too lazy to google it The Bean link for lazies (You are going to regret not googling the soldiers… ok here you go lazies terra-cotta soldier link for lazies ).
4. Willis Tower aka The Sears Tower
The Willis Tower formally known as The Sears Tower is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere (insert big eyed emoji) and boasts a view spanning up to four states (I heard that in the informative video they showed us because I am good listener). They have this crazy glass sky deck called “The Ledge” that you can stand on and get a photo for Instagram (if you didn’t take a photo, did it actually happen?) and it is awesome! It’s a super tall building y’all. Roll Tide.
5. Navy Pier.
So Navy Pier is exactly what it sounds like a giant pier on the shoreline of Lake Michigan (and is the number one tourist destination in Chicago according to my boo Wikipedia). It has a Ferris Wheel along with tons of shops and gardens and is something everyone should experience at least once yada yada blah blah- but there is only one reason and one reason only Navy Pier made this list: I was hungover and dying the day we visited and they had the best ice cream/root beer floats EVER. Thanks for saving the day Navy Pier- you da real mvp.
6. A Bulls Game at United Center.
DA BULLLLS. I am actually a Bears fan and am not really into basketball but the guys really wanted to see a game so we abided and boy was it the right decision. I am down for basically any sporting event with food/beer and The Bulls/Rockets game we attended definitely fit the bill. They had Goose Island Beer (A local beer I fell in love with) on tap at the stadium and I had the time of my life. The Bulls won the game if you were wondering, and yes I had to google that in the post game Uber because of all the Goose Island I ingested. I’m not even sorry about it.
7. RPM Italian.
And last but definitely not least RPM Italian, om nom nom nom. RPM Itailian is an amazing restaurant (Obviously of the Italian persuasion) owned by Giuliana and Bill Rancic. We went here for our 5th wedding anniversary and it was probably the husband’s favorite part of the whole trip. The menu consists of mostly small Tapa style plates which is great because you can try E V E R Y T H I N G… or at least that’s what we did;) The Risotto Primavera and the Shredded Brussels Sprout salad were to die for, I literally still think about that salad twice a week!
We had a blast checking out what all Chi Town had to offer and I can’t wait to go back and explore some more! Also if Chicago wasn’t awesome enough on it’s own, it’s the birthplace of Yeezy aka Kanye aka my boo thang so there’s that too. Roll Tide and Bear Down. I’m out.