Chicago

This weekend, I headed to Chicago with Summer, J, Heather, Dom and Yumi!

J randomly brought a tub full of ham to share, which we quickly dubbed "CAR HAM!" and enjoyed several times during the drive up.

It was soooo good! In fact I think it was the best ham I've ever had. Car ham!!

Yumi and I stayed at the Palmer House Hotel, the nation's oldest continually operating hotel. Established in 1873, it's absolutely gorgeous! We met in the lobby for an espresso martini before venturing out for the evening.

Look at that lobby!

For dinner, we went to Demera Ethiopian restaurant. Suzanne took a train over from Milwaukee to meet us! It's her birthday weekend!

The food was AMAZING. Everything was extremely delicious and I got too full.

Summer and J stayed at the Chicago Athletic Association hotel, which was built in 1893 and used to serve as an athletic and social club. It was so fun to explore. Look at these beautiful horse mermaids!!

On Saturday morning, we all headed to King Spa.

Yumi and Heather have been before, but for the rest of us this was a completely new experience.

One of the best, and weirdest, days of my life!! We were there for hours. We tried the wet pools and saunas, each got a full body scrub, had a delicious lunch, and then explored the dry rooms. Everyone wears a matching uniform and we forgot to get a group picture and it's my only regret of the trip.

We spent Saturday afternoon walking around downtown.

It was soooo crowded!!! It was also unseasonably cold for Chicago, which is usually already pretty cold.

In the evening, we headed to the Christkindlmarket, a traditional German market. We enjoyed piping hot mugs of glühwein, traditional hot spiced wine. Cheers!

Christkindlmarket!

Then we headed back to the Chicago Athletic Association, where they were having a pop-up Christmas bar in the old pool area! The bar was called Happy's.

There were 4s and 44s all over the place at this hotel. Mailbox 44!

 

Swim lane #4 in the old pool (aka Happy's pop-up bar!).

It was fun to look down from the balconies onto the Happy's bar. It was 70s kitschy delight.

Happy holidays! After Happy's, we headed to Roka Akor sushi bar for a truly delightful and delicious meal. None of us took a single photo, we were too busy enjoying the dinner!

On Sunday, Summer and J went to the Bears game. Brrrr!!! Yumi and I met my friend Lisa for dinner at Gilt Bar. They have super delicious cocktails and food. Cheers! We had truffle mozzarella sticks for an appetizer, and I had housemade pasta for dinner. Yum yum yum.

After dinner, I met back up with Summer at the Chicago Athletic Association. First we headed up to their rooftop bar to see the beautiful view.

Then we did a quick chilly tour of Millennium Park. You gotta visit the Bean!

 
 
 

We had a lot of fun watching the ice skaters. 

We tried to make the same expressions as this Crown Fountain guy.

On Monday morning, before embarking on the trip back to Athens, Yumi and I went to the Goddess and the Baker near our hotel for a delicious breakfast. I had a bagel with smoked salmon and an iced lavender vanilla latte. It really hit the spot!