Chicago

When we planned our trip, we didn't really take into account the weather. So arriving in Chicago after our flight from Vegas was a bit of a shock. We knew it was going to be chilly, but didn't think it would be as cold as it was. The night we arrived was ok, but the next day was another story! Even so I really loved Chicago, the feel of the city was just so different from other big cities we have been to on our travels and the people were really friendly.

Anyway lets rewind a bit to the first night, we arrived quite late in the evening and made our way to the hotel we were staying in, called the Talbott Hotel. Jeremy and I both loved this hotel, and I couldn't recommend it enough. Although it has plenty of rooms it felt like a true family run place, and the doorman called Gary was one of the friendliest people we met on our trip.

Our Room

We put down our bags and made our way out to find something to eat. Being in Chicago we obviously had to get some deep dish pizza, and there was a recommended place just down the road from our hotel, so that's where we headed.
Lou Malnati's is well known for some of the best deep dish pizza in Chicago, and judging by the line awaiting us when we got there at around 9pm, it's really popular. We grabbed some drinks at the bar and people watched a bit while we waited for the table. The restaurant was buzzing and the atmosphere was great.
By the time we sat down we were famished, so we started with some calamari to share which was delicious and then ordered a small deep dish to share. We were told that the small would be enough as the pizza is so filling, and it certainly was. Deep dish pizza doesn't mean that it has a really thick crust, it actually refers to the fillings and the fact that it's baked in what looks like a pie dish. If you want to get really scientific about it, read this post: http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/06/the-best-deep-dish-pizza-in-chicago.html All I can tell you is that I thought it was delicious. Very different to any pizza I've had before, but very very tasty.

After all the delicious food we headed off to bed ready for to see what Chicago had to offer.
We woke up the next morning, and went online to find out about an architecture tour through Chicago. The city is known for it's amazing buildings and we had heard that these tours were the way to go. So we booked ourselves in for one and decided to walk down to the starting point so we could see some of the city along the way.
Unfortunately we had underestimated the cold a bit and didn't layer up quite enough. By this I mean we didn't have any thermals on or thick scarves and I only had one pair of socks on. Once we got onto the boat (which was open air) and on the river, I realised my mistake. I have never been that cold in my life before!! But despite the cold it was a really informative tour and a good way to find out about some of the amazing architecture that Chicago has to offer. Our tour guide was really funny too, and very knowledgable. I'm not going to lie though, by about the 1 hour mark, with 15mins to go all I was dreaming about a warm cup of tea.

Marina City buildings - or Corn Cob Buildings as they are known :)

Snowflakes whilst we were on the tour

Sears (or Willis) Tower

After the tour we made our way to the nearest Starbucks to warm up and then headed back to our hotel to put on all of the clothes we brought with us layer up before heading out to the John Hancock building. This building has a bar on the 96th floor known for it's amazing view of the Chicago skyline. The view was pretty special, and the town is unbelievably big and just stretched out for miles around you. We had some drinks there, and got chatting to a crazy American guy who told us stories about himself, which kept us entertained for some time. We eventually headed off to Bub City for some dinner, which serves BBQ food and has a really cool atmosphere. Definitely a good way to end a cold but fun day in Chicago.

Bub City

Rules at Bub City