Vaxxed and waxed! So this year, I’ve done a bit of traveling this year with the farthest being to Chicago recently. This was my first time going to the Windy City and I could feel myself getting more excited as the days got closer to the flight. Besides the wind, the weather was comparable to whenever Florida experiences a cold front, which is maybe a total of a month out of a year. I packed my carry-on bag and I was ready to go.

So…how to spend a weekend in Chicago? It was pretty simple really. Just like any other weekend trip Robert and I’ve done, it went pretty seamlessly. Being in the city felt way different than being in Florida since the weather highs are reaching high 70s-low 80s. The cold was a good departure from wearing shorts and whatnot.

Ride Public Transportation

The last time I rode any kind of public transportation like the city bus was my high school days in Orlando. Between riding the bus and the train in Chicago, I felt like I was a regular local traipsing around the city exploring what’s there. It’s so different from living in Florida where everything is driving distance and there aren’t too many options of getting around cities. The train rides are pretty quick and somewhat scenic depending on the route. I couldn’t help but reminisce about us riding the train in France; the only difference is the Chicago trains weren’t crowded.

Lou Malnati’s

Our first stop after we checked in to our hotel. We stayed in The Loop area of the city, which is pretty walkable actually. Anywho, we walked about 15 minutes from our hotel to Lou Malnati’s to get some deep dish pizza. Now, obviously I’m not from Chicago so this was my first time eating authentic deep dish. Fortunately for us, we were able to walk right in and be seated immediately.

So, the first thing we ordered was a plate of Buffalo wings to set lunch off right. We got them pretty fast and I, being super hungry, gobbled them down with a quickness. Do y’all like dipping your wings in blue cheese or ranch? I’m more of a blue cheese girl. The pizza finally comes a few moments after we finished the wings and I was so excited. Usually I don’t order veggies on my pizza but I really enjoyed bussin down on the “Lou” pizza. It’s crust was so soft and fluffy plus the veggies were cooked to perfection. The cheese had hella stretch so of course I had to see how far it could stretch!

I’ve been spoiled so now I can’t not have authentic deep dish.

Magnificent Mile

Like I said in the beginning, the area of the city we were in is really walkable. After eating pizza and me forgetting my mask in the hotel room, we walked down to Magnificent Mile to see what’s up. I wasn’t really trying to go shopping but we stopped in H&M and I bought a couple t-shirts. I’m pretty sure we were there during the day, it would’ve been so awesome to see all the shops in that area. We walked past the Bottega Veneta store so now I’m manifesting a pair of shoes from the brand to fall into my online shopping cart one day. Magnificent Mile is such a cool spot; I do plan on securing hella bags next time I’m back in Chicago.

Avec

Once the pizza was digested, we met up with my friend Jenna and her husband Jake at Avec. Perfect for Robert and I since we only had to walk a block from our hotel. The menu is full of small bites and shareable plates so it’s a great option for small parties. We all ended up getting a whole bunch of stuff and just hanging out; one of the things off the menu I suggest getting is their chorizo-stuffed Medjool dates. I kept scraping the piquillo pepper and tomato sauce onto my plate to drizzle over the dates. It was a good time #TakeMeBack.