Tips on how to spend a weekend with your girlfriends in the windy city of Chicago
Read the entire blog for a recap of what we did in Chicago. If you want to skip straight to the trip tips, scroll down to the bottom.
Did you know Chicago is the third largest city in the United States and is home to an estimated 2.7M residents?
A Chicago Girlfriends Getaway
A group of us, 11 to be exact, decided to take a short weekend trip to explore the third most populous city in the world – Chicago. It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but it was a great one filled with many firsts, delicious food and lots of laughter. Our trip started out with a 9hr delay. Yup, you read that right. Two hours before departure time, we received a notification that the train was delayed due to mechanical issues. Our train which was scheduled to leave Friday morning at 7am would not depart until 6pm that night. This meant we wouldn’t arrive until after 1am. We were going to have to cancel birthday dinner plans and miss a half day of sightseeing.
After a long discussion, we decided to continue with the trip considering one of the girls was already en route. It was my first time traveling by train so the delay immediately put a damper on the whole experience. But once we got going, the ride was great. The train cars are very spacious, reclining seating with ample legroom and electric outlets to keep all your gadgets fully charged. Dining options included a full sit down meal to a wide variety of take-out options such as pizza, sandwiches and ramen noodles.
Talking about food, If you know us - you know we LOVE to eat! You will NEVER catch us traveling WITHOUT food. We wouldn’t be Hmong if we didn’t travel with sticky rice, sausage, beef jerky and pepper! Literally we had our very own dining cart in the back of the train with snack bags overflowing with chips, donuts, granola bars, cookies, grapes and who knows what else. The one thing we forgot was the alcohol! Lucky for us, the Café Car carried everything from wine and beer to liquor. Overall, traveling by train was surprisingly pleasant. It is definitely something I would consider again for a girlfriends getaway.
Once we arrived, the original plan of taking the bus to the hotel wasn’t such a grand idea considering our super late arrival in unfamiliar territory. We decided at the last minute to Uber - another first for many of us. We called for two vehicles, uberX (seats 4) and UberXL (seats 6). We loaded four girls in UberX and sent them off to the hotel. Then waited. And waited. Finally a man in a small Toyota Prius waved over and asked if we called for a ride. Take a wild guess at how many people a Prius CAN fit? A boat load of crazy Asian girls, plus their mama, sticky rice and suitcases, with room to breathe. Just ignore the over capacity weight limit indicator!
We stayed in downtown not too far from the train station. Since we planned on spending most of our time exploring the Loop anyway, the central business district of Chicago area made sense. After the Uber stunt, we were experts at squeezing into small confined spaces. We managed to wedge ourselves into two suites at the Residence Inn Marriott. Can you guess how many people fit into the hotel elevator?! After a few hours of sleep, we were ready to take on the big city. Since we really didn’t have a mapped out plan, our strategy was to be spontaneous, go with the flow and follow wherever the road led us. Here’s a quick recap of what we did.
Willis Tower - There’s a reason why more than one million people visit this iconic attraction annually. The view from Skydeck is amazing. Did you know you can see into four states and up to 50 miles up there? My favorite view was looking out east to the stunning views of Lake Michigan. Also from this view you can see many of Chicago’s top attractions: Navy Pier, Grant Park and the giant Bean at Millennium Park. The Ledge is a must. More than 1,353 ft above city streets, the Ledge’s glass box extends 4.3 feet from the building and offers an unobstructed view of the city. Lots of photo and selfie ops here.
Millennium Park - Our spontaneity quickly vanished as soon as we realized we were stuck in the middle of one of the largest St. Patrick’s Parade. Several of the roads were closed off and there was no way out. We were lost in a mass of green, drunk, high, screaming college kids with no end in sight. Finally, we made our way to the park only to find it closed. We got to see the Bean from afar. I was so disappointed. There was nothing we could do but parade on.
Adler Planetarium - This museum is dedicated to astronomy. There are several fun interactive exhibits - great for learning about space exploration. The museum also features sky shows, a café and gift shop. The Planetarium is undeniably a great attraction for families with younger children. Don’t miss the awesome view of the lake and Pier.
Joy Yee in Chinatown – The popular restaurant offers an extensive menu of pan-Asian cuisine and a gigantic list of refreshing and delicious boba teas. We feasted on two Super Jumbo bowls of pho, each serving 4-6, a couple of appetizer platters, Korean BBQ Short Ribs, Vermicelli noodles, Spicy Garlic Pork and more. Joy Yee portions are large enough to share and everything was delicious!
King Spa – Located in Niles, approximately 20 minutes outside of Chicago. King Spa and Sauna was quite a surprise. This spa wonderland is complete with massage services, baths, saunas, steam rooms, movie theater, food court, and 9 treatment rooms ranging from hot, warm to cold.King Spa was definitely worth the $24 (with online coupon) general admittance fee.Just an FYI, no bathing suits allowed.Bring a water bottle to keep hydrated.Relieve stress on the stone slab beds surrounded by amethyst crystals and wormwood coal or extract toxins with infrared rays.
Greek Town – Hmmm….felt more like a ghost town.We did find a quaint little cafe open.The tantalizing aroma of sweet desserts and breads baking filled the air at Artopolis Bakery & Café.The fresh crisps salads and delectable Artopolis Bread we ordered quickly disappeared as fast as snapping this photo.Had I not been so full from breakfast, I would’ve loved to try a few more items on the menu.
Giordano’s –Published as one of the best pizza joints in Chicago, we weren’t leaving until we had a slice of Giordano’s famous stuffed deep dish pizza. And that’s exactly what we did. I devoured a massive slice of the Chicago Classic, overloaded with toppings and hot melting cheese. It was scrumptious!
Some tips to consider before heading out with your girl’s to Chicago:
Consider renting a car if you want to really explore all of Chicago
Chicago has a plethora of public transportation to help you get around - maximize your budget by purchasing day passes
Wear comfortable shoes, whether you have a car or use public transit – you will do a lot of walking
Avoid paying $3+ for a bottle of water by bringing your own refillable bottle
Avoid going during St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Unless that is your purpose. Hotel rates are much higher, popular attractions along the parade are hard to get in and out of and some aren’t even accessible
Put together an itinerary ahead of time -this helps eliminate wasted time trying to decide where to go
Consider purchasing the Chicago Go Card if you are visiting several attractions
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