CHICAGO

Paul and I were able to get away for a weekend just the 2 of us so we went back to where it all began...Chicago. It was a BEAUTIFUL weekend and it was so good to be back in that city...never gets old (well, that's not true, it gets old if you live there, but it's always fun to visit!!)

We arrived Friday and walked up Michigan Ave...hitting the Apple Store & the Disney Store Friday night, we had dinner at our favorite restaurant, Gejas. It's a fondue restaurant. YUMMO! After we got back to the hotel, I didn't want to pay $15 for a movie in the hotel & $8 for water so we headed back out to look for a red box at the McDonald's (no luck) and a convenience store (one on every corner there). So, we accomplished one task--water. We rented Star Trek in our room. At least one of us enjoyed it!

Saturday morning, we met up with Mel for brunch at Grand Lux Cafe on Michigan. It was a hopping place and it was so fun to see Mel in her hood. After we hit Borders, Paul & I decided to do the double decker bus tour of the city. We've been to most of the stops, but it was a great way to enjoy the nice weather and see lots of different places, without having to cab/walk around. Here's a picture of another bus like ours.

Right outside the Hancock building-where the light their big Christmas tree. It was where we were parked to board the bus, and right outsize the Ritz Carlton we saw the band Kiss (didn't get a good picture of them), but it was fun to see!

Paul hanging out in the back of the bus

Hark Rock Sears Tower (Willis Tower)

Paul & I on the bus

My favorite spot in Chicago-the river, with the new addition of the Trump tower.

LOVED this building-was so cool View of the city, coming back

Solider field

Self portrait

Saturday night, after enjoying our complimentary drinks & appetizers at our hotel we went to Carmines for dinner in the Gold Coast area. We were pretty disappointed with this dining experience. It was busy, crowded and loud. And, they were obviously trying to get a lot of people in & out, based on their extremely fast service. We enjoyed the wonderful evening and walked back to our hotel. Our plan for Sunday morning was to have some Chicago style pizza. We discovered after walking to 2 Gino's that they weren't open in time. Thankfully, Pizano's was (we learned this is Oprah's favorite on the bus tour) and has been voted the best thin crust. Since we were still full from dinner, we enjoyed the thin crust pizza. But, first Paul had to get a picture of him in front of Ditka's (in his Vikings shirt!). Good thing the Vikings were on bye-although we did get a few comments about it.

Overall, it was a great weekend together. We enjoyed the time we got to spend together without the responsibility of the kids. And, the kids had fun too (will share their pictures too)