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.