Waking up on the first full day in Chicago, I was a little tired.
Not overwhelmingly so, but enough to just want a relaxed start to the morning and not a rush to hit the City.
Thankfully Boo had to work that day and so we got up for breakfast, hoping there would be a huge choice to have as America is so well known for.
We were welcomed into the restaurant area by an amazingly friendly lady called Bernadette who told us where everything was and to call on her if we needed any help.
The breakfast was self serve and so we hit the juice stand first and filled up on apple juice, water and a cup of Earl Grey for me.
Going through to the food section we were both a little surprised to find five covered tureens, a tray of granola, berries and yoghurt.
There was also a large cauldron of Oatmeal, some milk, bread, bagels and of course pots and pots of coffee.
Looking under the tureens we found scrambled egg, small sausages, diced potatoes and small tortilla wraps. The final tureen had some slices of what looked like deep fried tofu. Either way I didn’t fancy it.
Certainly we wouldn’t go hungry that was for sure, however it wasn’t the breakfasts we had come to know all over Europe, and Boo’s travels in the USA and the Far East.
Nevertheless, I got a spoon of eggs, potatoes and a couple of sausages. Bernadette bustled about the restaurant chatting with people while constantly clearing up.
She was an absolute ray of sunshine and hopefully the start of many great things to come, here in Chicago.
We headed back up to the room as I still needed to unpack, shower and decide what I was going to do whilst Boo worked.
Originally I had considered going to the ‘Immersive Prince Exhibition’, but I felt a relaxing day would be a much better option.
I spent the morning hanging clothes, deciding what to wear for the different days and in between working, Boo and I started booking trips, visits and excursions that we wanted to do.
The view out of the window was pretty spectacular. Not a dark cloud in the sky, the temperature was in the 30’s and I was pretty glad to be in a room with A/C.
One of the down sides to the room we were in, even being on the 14th floor, was the constant sirens going off from the Firehouse directly opposite. It became almost like you could set your watch to it.
Nevertheless, the room was luxuriously comfortable; two massive queen size beds, a large flat screen TV, fridge, and a fully stocked refreshment area.
The bathroom was relatively small but well stocked and there was a separate living area with couch and footstool.
Sadly, in my haste to start the adventure, I failed to take any photographs, which is pretty unlike me.
Boo did manage to get one a couple of days into the holiday, but you get the idea!
Anyway, partly through the day, the Groom sent a message asking if we would like to meet up for lunch. He mentioned pizza so we were definitely in!
He mentioned that several other guests had flown in and we would get the chance to meet them at lunch. Well, time to get ready then.
I put on a cute make-up covered skirt and top that is an old favourite of mine and covered my hair with a turban. It was scorching out and I wanted my hair off my neck as much as possible. I also needed to put it in rollers later tonight to get ready for the wedding.
We took an uber to ‘LaBriola’ where the Groom and a dozen other people were sat at large family style bench tables. Most of the friends had just travelled in and were both hungry and thirsty.
The suggestion was made to get a Chicago deep dish pizza with sausage and a tavern style (thin crust) vegetable pizza.
Everyone was happy with that and we settled down to wait for the food to arrive at the table.
We were NOT disappointed.
The sausage pizza was probably the best pizza I have ever had. There was a layer of cheese on the outside of the crust, then the crust, then cheese, then sausage, tomato and more cheese.
It was almost like a lasagne with its thick, fresh helping of tomatoes. The cheese was gooey, hot and absolutely delicious.
The thickness of the pizza was unbelievable. Literally one slice was all that was needed before stomachs started to struggle.
It was literally out of this world.
An hour of so after we started, we paid the bill and left ‘LaBriola’ to head to a few bars.
The first was a true Dive Bar called ‘Rossi’s’
It literally looked like a scary bar where you were likely to get bottled; dark, old fashioned, simple. A real mans place in fact.
However appearances can be deceiving. Everyone inside was really friendly as we ordered a round of shots for our party (apart from Boo and I).
Shots done, we left and continued the walk along the streets of Chicago.
The Groom took much delight in pointing out the local sights, important/impressive buildings and places we might like to visit. I took loads of photographs as I simply couldn’t resist and you know I love a good snap.
We ended up back at ‘Smith and Wollensky’ and as everyone was melting from the heat, it was decided to stop and get a drink (or three)
Smith And Wollensky
Declan, the barkeep introduced us to a new recruit, Eliza and she was set the task of making some mocktails. This she blew out of the park with a juice/soda combination that was a lot like a ‘Sex on the Beach’ without the alcohol.
Two or three of them later, with Martini’s and Manhattan’s for everyone else, we had managed to talk to all of the other guests and were having a whale of a time.
As Smith and Wollensky is on the Chicago River, I decided to take a selection of pictures of the surroundings. It really was a stunning locale with such interesting architecture.
I had a play around with my long lens to get some ‘arty’ shots before returning to the crowd.
Early evening arrived with the Grooms departure; everyone else seemed settled in for a few more drinks, so Boo and I made our apologies and walked back to the hotel.
We had a heavy night ahead of us…
This involved watching Encanto on the TV whilst I wet set mine and Boo’s hair in old fashioned rollers for the wedding tomorrow….
Till next time,
SPSG xxx