Visiting Chicago

          Meet a new blogging friend Kendra Thornton who lives in CHICAGO...She says: Chicago is my kind of town.  There is so much to do here, so much to see, that it is a challenge to recommend just a few things to visitors.  As a lifelong Chicagoan, I hope these tips will guide you to some places you can discover on your own. 

            Shop ‘til you drop. Yes, shopping is (near) the top of my list.  A girl can’t have too many shoes.  The “Magnificent Mile” is a stretch of North Michigan Avenue between the Chicago River and Oak Street.  The mile-long stretch has chic high end shopping scattered between the tallest buildings in the Windy City.  Shop some more at the amazing Water Tower mall.

            Find some Pier leisure. The historic Navy Pier features a park, festival hall, ballroom, and pavilion.  Call me boring, but I love to go there to marvel at the colorful displays at the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows.  There are 150 multi-hued windows from Chicago area homes, commercial buildings and churches, including works by Louis Tiffany.  After getting a fill of culture, I climb aboard the giant Ferris wheel for a glorious view of the city.  

          Experience the Peninsula. One of my favorite places to spend an afternoon in Chicago is the Peninsula at the foot of the Magnificent Mile.  When I want to pamper myself, I go there to indulge at the Spa, and then to its delicious European café, Pierrot Gourmet.  Surrounded by ornate furniture and heavy silver-plate service, you are served fluffy scones with jam and butter, a bounty of tiny sandwiches, pastries and petit fors, followed by some sumptuous sorbet. I found out about the Peninsula, and many other tremendous hotel/restaurant/spa options in Chicago, by using the site gogobot to read how others had enjoyed their experiences. It may sound stuffy, but this is an experience you should not miss.  

         Eat like a Chicagoan. There are fabulous gourmet restaurants galore in Chicago, but sometimes simple is better.  Chicago is the origin of deep-dish pizza and the capital of hot dogs.  The undisputed champion of cased meat purveyors is Hot Doug’s - the best place in the universe for an authentic Chicago-style dog.  If you don’t know what that means, please go there and eat like a local - with everything - (yellow mustard, neon green pickle relish, onions, tomatoes, peppers and a dill pickle inside a steamed poppy seed bun).  Don’t forget the celery salt.  The hotdogs are made with the finest meats, and, oh yes, the menu is named for legendary Chicago ballplayers.  There is nothing more I can say.

       You aren’t done yet. When you are in my town, you owe it to yourself to find one of the many music halls that dish out blues, jazz, rock, and even Gaelic tunes.  Also, when he is appearing here at home, I like to listen to the unique styling of Studebaker John.