Chi-Town
A few things I knew going in: the name of the city was cool, there's a play about it, Harrison Ford was born there, and the hot dogs are supposed to be life changing. Once the trip was officially booked, I kept getting questions like "why go there?" or "what's to do?" and as you can probably tell from the previous statement, I had no answer. My sister was the planner and I was just following her for the ride or should I say flight? The first day included the typical bus tour around the city which was followed up by one of my favorite pastimes: eating. What's travel without stopping at the best food establishments around? Portillo's was the restaurant that had graciously provided me with my first and only Chicago dog. The rumors are true ladies and gents, ingredients that shouldn't work just do. I've never been a fan of hot dogs but hey, throw on some pepper, relish, pickle, mustard, tomato, onion, and celery salt and that'll make me one happy lady. However, I do need to give a quick shout out to their chili dogs because it must be pretty good if I risked the potential mess for it. I guess Guy Fieri wasn't wrong in giving his approval to this place. After the food coma receded, we headed on foot to find the L train that would take us to United Center for a night of hockey. It might be pricey but I recommend attending a Blackhawks game if you get the chance. I have never seen a more enthusiastic or friendly crowd. Sure, most of it is due to booze but it's just this unexplainable experience. You begin to find yourself becoming invested in a team that you've never even liked or kept up with before. On the downside, this can lead to the purchase of overpriced apparel but in my book, souvenirs are a part of keeping the memory alive so it's okay to splurge a little (I sure did). Now, if your looking for something a little more exciting and somewhat stress inducing, then I'd suggest going to the 360 Chicago Observation Deck. The view is awesome but it also offers the option of trying out their newest attraction. The first of it's kind, the Tilt, is a gigantic window with hand bars that is basically able to "detach" from the building and slowly plunge you downwards. I would go in expecting slight panic as it can feel like you might be falling to your death any second. But hey, you only live once right? Sticking to that motto, go ahead and stuff your face with some deep dish pizza after. I suggest dropping by Lou Malnati's and getting a pie to share. It's pretty fulling so for only 4 girls the task of finishing it had been impossible. Maybe on the next trip, we will be able to redeem ourselves and overcome the "too full to eat" battle.
Until next time,
Val
