RadioFanatic
Mouseketeer<br><font color=6d6b70>SO not a jewelry
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2005
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Grumpy - dh, 34, hates mornings, loves WDW and loves to travel
Dopey - me 33, loves mornings, loves WDW and trip planner extraordinaire!
Well, Grumpy had a seminar in Chicago this weekend so I went along for the ride. The last time I had been in Chicago was in the fall of 1993, so it had been awhile to say the least. The funny thing was that the last time I had been I was a college student who hadn't been to NYC yet. I was amazed at the beauty of Chicago and how clean it was.
Well, 12 years later, and having been to NYC numerous upon numerous times, I can still say without a doubt that, although I enjoy NYC, it can't hold a candle to Chicago. It's still a gorgeous city and still amazingly clean. The two issues that NYC has up on Chicago are (1) pizza; and (2) handling the homeless.
I got in late Friday night - we stayed at the Allerton Crowne Plaza - very nice hotel in an amazing location of North Michigan Avenue - we had a conference rate of $169 per night. Hotel was beautiful and you could see the history. Nice size king bedroom - bathroom a bit small. Conference rooms were beautiful on the top floors with amazing views.
First night we ordered Lou Malnati's deep dish (deluxe) and mozzerella cheesesticks. Cheesesticks were boring like you see everywhere. I enjoyed the pizza while Grumpy most definitely did not. It was just too much for him. So we think we're both NY pizza lovers which is a good thing as we live in upstate NY.
Next full day was spent in the conference. We went to dinner that night at the Rosebud Steakhouse which was amazing! Great steaks. We ordered the Saturday night special prime rib which was only $35 each - and I say only $35 because the steaks were the biggest thing I had ever seen in my life - they had to have been at least 2 lbs each. Grumpy and I could have shared one with some left over. And for such a large piece, it was grilled masterfully - a lovely medium rare. We were with a group of 10 and no one could get over how big the steaks were. Thankfully, one of the group lived in Chicago so she gladly took over our leftovers.
Afterwards, we have a glorious nightime walk along North Michigan Avenue which was really pretty on a nice crisp night.
Sunday, we didn't have a flight out until 6:30 pm so we had the day to have fun. We were proud of ourselves because we walked all the way from 701 North Michigan down to the Planetarium.
We went to the Millineum Park which is something everyone should see. It was beautifully done with a wonderful open auditorium area (and boy would I love to see a show there) and these amazing monuments including what looks to be a large silver kidney bean that shows the reflection of the city and a double tower monument, each with videos of Chicagoans' faces smiling, etc. I heard in the summer water shoots out to look like they are spitting which sounds neat.
We then walked to the Buckingham Fountain and then on the museum area which has the Fields History Museum, The Aquarium and the Planetarium.
Grumpy - dh, 34, hates mornings, loves WDW and loves to travel
Dopey - me 33, loves mornings, loves WDW and trip planner extraordinaire!
Well, Grumpy had a seminar in Chicago this weekend so I went along for the ride. The last time I had been in Chicago was in the fall of 1993, so it had been awhile to say the least. The funny thing was that the last time I had been I was a college student who hadn't been to NYC yet. I was amazed at the beauty of Chicago and how clean it was.
Well, 12 years later, and having been to NYC numerous upon numerous times, I can still say without a doubt that, although I enjoy NYC, it can't hold a candle to Chicago. It's still a gorgeous city and still amazingly clean. The two issues that NYC has up on Chicago are (1) pizza; and (2) handling the homeless.
I got in late Friday night - we stayed at the Allerton Crowne Plaza - very nice hotel in an amazing location of North Michigan Avenue - we had a conference rate of $169 per night. Hotel was beautiful and you could see the history. Nice size king bedroom - bathroom a bit small. Conference rooms were beautiful on the top floors with amazing views.
First night we ordered Lou Malnati's deep dish (deluxe) and mozzerella cheesesticks. Cheesesticks were boring like you see everywhere. I enjoyed the pizza while Grumpy most definitely did not. It was just too much for him. So we think we're both NY pizza lovers which is a good thing as we live in upstate NY.
Next full day was spent in the conference. We went to dinner that night at the Rosebud Steakhouse which was amazing! Great steaks. We ordered the Saturday night special prime rib which was only $35 each - and I say only $35 because the steaks were the biggest thing I had ever seen in my life - they had to have been at least 2 lbs each. Grumpy and I could have shared one with some left over. And for such a large piece, it was grilled masterfully - a lovely medium rare. We were with a group of 10 and no one could get over how big the steaks were. Thankfully, one of the group lived in Chicago so she gladly took over our leftovers.
Afterwards, we have a glorious nightime walk along North Michigan Avenue which was really pretty on a nice crisp night.
Sunday, we didn't have a flight out until 6:30 pm so we had the day to have fun. We were proud of ourselves because we walked all the way from 701 North Michigan down to the Planetarium.
We went to the Millineum Park which is something everyone should see. It was beautifully done with a wonderful open auditorium area (and boy would I love to see a show there) and these amazing monuments including what looks to be a large silver kidney bean that shows the reflection of the city and a double tower monument, each with videos of Chicagoans' faces smiling, etc. I heard in the summer water shoots out to look like they are spitting which sounds neat.
We then walked to the Buckingham Fountain and then on the museum area which has the Fields History Museum, The Aquarium and the Planetarium.
