When it comes to picking your hotel, there are far too many to choose from, but I highly recommend finding a place somewhere along the Magnificent Mile (an amazing stretch of Michigan Avenue filled with all kinds of great things to do). The prices are a little higher, but it was well worth it to be close enough to walk to pretty much anything we wanted to do. If you choose to stay a little off the beaten path, take into consideration the cost of taking a cab to some of the places you'll want to go (and the distance you'll have to travel back with all of your shopping bags).
Chicago is perfect for anyone who loves shopping, great food, museums, shopping, beautiful buildings, awesome views, and did I mention shopping? Don't get me wrong... we didn't go there with loads of money to burn, but we still managed to enjoy hours of shopping in some amazing stores. If you've never had the pleasure to shop with your girlfriends, this is the place to do it. Nothing compares to hanging out in a dressing room with 8 girlfriends as they tell you how good something looks on you :)
So, aside from shopping, Chicago is an amazing city to do all kinds of great things. We took the Chicago Architecture Foundation's Boat Tour and, while I won't pretend it was the highlight of my trip, the tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable and entertaining, the staff was friendly and the views were amazing. Our group really enjoyed it.
 |
| View from the river on the Boat Tour |
 |
| AMAZING deep dish pizza |
When it comes to dinner, Chicago is definitely the kind of place where you'll want to make reservations. There are too many great restaurants to choose from, but we did some research in advance and picked a few that sounded particularly intriguing and made reservations weeks ahead of time. Unfortunately, things going the way they sometimes do, we'd made reservations for our first night there at The Shanghai Terrace at The Peninsula, but when we got there we were informed that they didn't have any record of our reservation. Of course, for a party of 9 trying to find a good place to eat on a Friday night without a reservation... things weren't looking promising. To their credit, the fine people at The Peninsula called around and managed to find a table for us at Japonais. I can't say how it would have compared to The Peninsula, but the food was incredible! I would highly recommend it anyone that likes sushi.
For our second night, we had reservations at Cafe Spiaggia, a restaurant I can not say enough good things about. The service was phenomenal and the food was absolutely amazing. A few of us splurged on an insanely high priced bottle of wine and, while I would never treat myself to such things at home, I will say it was worth every penny.
One 'must do' thing on our list was to check out The Signature Lounge at the Hancock. This restaurant and lounge is located on the 95th and 96th floors of the Hancock Building and boasts some amazing views of the city. Our plan was to head to the lounge for a few drinks before dinner on Saturday night. What we didn't count on was the long line of people with the same plan, leaving us with an almost hour long wait just to get on the elevator to the 96th floor. Sadly, we weren't able to truly appreciate the view because, by the time we got there, the sun had set and none of our photos managed to capture the view of the city lights. Even sadder than that, by the time we got there, we didn't have time for a drink before heading back down to be sure to make our dinner reservation that night. While I might agree that this stop is worth the wait, I highly recommend heading there much earlier in the day so that you can check out the city before the sun sets.
Chicago also has some great places to hang out after hours. With only two nights to work with, we didn't come close to seeing all the Windy City had to offer, but we did enjoy one evening at The Redheaded Piano Bar, a crowded little place with lively music, a small dance floor and friendly staff. Our second evening was spent on Rush Street, which had bars and restaurants to fit any kind of mood you might be in, from cheesy dive bars advertising free shots (the condom outside should have told us to keep going, but the loud music and flashy lights called to us... or was it the free shots? Either way, it was terrible... the place was practically empty and the service still managed to be inexplicably slow), to upscale bar/restaurants (we spent some time at Tavern on Rush which had some delicious martinis and was jammed all night long) and everything in between. We hopped from bar to bar until we found enjoyable music and indoor basketball (She-nannigans House of Beer) where we proceeded to drink too much and likely made complete fools of ourselves on the dance floor. It was a night to remember and none of us were particularly excited about the flight home the next morning.
The one upside to sitting in the airport (nursing hangovers and blistered feet) was our close proximity to the Garrett Popcorn stand. I highly recommend trying the Chicago Mix - a half and half combo of caramel and cheese corn, which sounded oddly appealing at that particular moment. While the price tag was a bit high as far as popcorn is concerned, it was worth it to try out this Chicago tradition and, based on the number of people in line, it was clear that this is a favorite stop for many.
I don't doubt there are tons of great destinations for a girls weekend getaway, but I have to rank Chicago as one of the best.
Tips and tricks for a successful girls weekend:
1. If you're all single, take turns being wing man for one another... no one likes being the only girl not getting hit on. On the flip side, if you're all married, make a point of watching each other's backs. It's nice to get hit on from time to time, but when Mr. McCreeperson doesn't take the hint, help a sister out and send the unwanted guest on his way.
2. Have a general game plan and a list of things you want to see and do. You definitely don't have to stick to a schedule, but you also don't want to wind up sitting around for an hour trying to figure out what to do next.
3. When it's time to get ready to head out as a group, decide on a time when you plan to leave, but designate a meeting place where everyone can leisurely show up whenever they're ready, like a bar across the street from the hotel. This way, anyone who shows up early can grab a drink to pass the time and no one is left feeling like they were holding everyone else up.
4. And a no-brainer, but still worth mentioning: always stick together. Our only rule was that no one went anywhere alone. No matter how safe a city may be, it's always best to err on the side of caution. Added bonus: if you happen to see something cool or run into someone famous, it's always good to have another witness.
A girls weekend trip to Chicago gets a 10 out of 10 from me!
Happy traveling!
No comments:
Post a Comment