chicago weekend: the end

We had such a great weekend, but it wasn't over yet. All of us were excited about eating at Bill and Giuliana Rancic's restaurant, RPM Italian. We're nerds like that.

We didn't hold back. Drinks at the bar, bottle of wine, apps, cheese plate, and entrees. This is why we strategically planned to eat here on our last night. We all knew our waistline would be hurting. The atmosphere was fun and our waiter was super nice. All in all, a really good place to eat.

See. My plate is empty.  

Monday morning we woke up to more rain and cold. Good thing we were headed home.

Luckily we all had flights around the same time and nothing was delayed. Shocking since the weather was bad. I couldn't have asked for a better girls weekend. Spending quality time with Shannon & Krista was such a blast and much needed. April and May were crazy months for me so it was nice to get away from the madness and recharge. I was so happy to get home to Michael and the girls and have nothing planned for June. Get ready ladies. Boston 2014 here we come! 

chicago weekend: bike ride

Don't be fooled. Not all bike are created equal. I think we were all a little wobbly when we got on these things, but it all comes back to you pretty quickly. We left the pier and rode along the shore to our next destination. The bike path was perfect for tourists like us.

We arrived at Buckingham Fountain just as the skies were starting to turn gray again.

 We didn't let it get us down though. We still made fools of ourselves. Look at that form.

Time was running out on our bike rental so we headed back to the park. One more stop along the way - the colorful Dangos. We evidently don't know how to behave ourselves around Dangos.

I'm not sure about Shannon and Krista, but after that ride I was ready for some good Italian food and wine.

chicago weekend: navy pier

We rode our fancy schmancy bikes down to Navy Pier. We walked around for a bit and took some pictures by the ferris wheel.

We did not ride the ferris wheel because the line was ridiculously long and we're not seven years old. We did however partake in some libations while we shopped.

The view of the city.

Then I had lunch. It was second only to the drinks we had on the first night. 

Time to get back on the bike and work off some of those calories.

chicago weekend: the bean

When we woke up Sunday morning we finally had good weather. The sun was shining and the high for the day was between 65 and 70 degrees. It was the perfect day for renting bikes. Our first stop on our self directed tour around the city was The Bean at Millenium Park.

I see us.

We played the role of tourist and took it very seriously.

Evidently, eating a Chicago dog the correct way is very serious as well.

chicago weekend: part two

We had scheduled an architectural boat tour for Saturday morning. If it hadn't been for the deposit we put down, we might not have gone. It was overcast, windy and just cold. We fueled up on hot coffee at breakfast.

We walked along the river to the boat and I took a couple of pictures.

Once we took off and were moving we realized just how cold it was. I was bound and determined to get some pictures of the city and the cool architecture.

Thankfully, they did have coffee on the boat. We took turns huddling together to stay warm.

We had a good time and it was great to see the city by boat, but I really have no clue what the guy said on the tour. All I could think about was the cold.

After the tour we walked to Portillo's for a Chicago dog and a beef sandwich. I guarantee you there was nothing healthy about it, but man was it good. I'm glad we took the suggestion on this one.

However, that evening I was not well. I was resting before our night out and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get up and get ready. I forced myself to go to dinner. I wound up paying $40 for a meal that I only took two bites out of. I was able to get the beer down. For some reason it was easier and felt better on my stomach than the food.

I got my second wind around 11:30 that night and I was starving by the time we got back to the hotel around two in the morning. Luckily the little market in the lobby was open. I feasted on a helping of Easy Mac. Best $40 meal ever!

I never realized that people watching at two in the morning is a lot of fun. You see all kinds at that time of the night. Even these two.