Chicago!

There are many U.S. cities that I have yet to visit. Chicago was on my list of ones I definitely wanted to see at some point. It just so happened that business had me fly out there for a few days.

I was traveling with my coworker Laurie. We arrived around dinner time and took a taxi to our hotel. We were staying at Hotel Felix. The hotel has a clean modern feel with a slight funky decor. The rooms were fairly small, but cozy and well appointed. The beds were incredibly comfortable, which was great to come home to after a long day of work (or running around Chicago).

We grabbed some snacks at the Whole Foods a block away from the hotel and relaxed until about 8:30 when we meet another coworker for drinks at the hotel bar, Elate (see the dodrinkstuff blog: http://dodrinkstuff.blogspot.com/2010/10/strawberry-jalapeno-martini.html).

We spent some time walking around Michigan Avenue shopping. Michigan Ave, while not as ritzy as Fifth Ave in NYC, still boasted a fair share of designer stores and upscale department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Nieman Marcus. The weather was excellent, although not windy. It was mild and sunny, adding to the clean fresh feel of the city. While I didn't make it to many parts of the city, the areas I did see where clean of garbage or any stinky smells that a big city often suffers from.

There were a lot more parts of the city that I didn't get to see or experience so I definitely want to get back there. I wanted to see Millennium Park and the Art Institute for sure. I guess I will just have to push for another business trip to the Windy City!