Chicago For the Holidays

Our trip to Chi-town was so great and the best part was spending so much time with family but it also gave way to a plethora of visual experiences that afforded a well rounded ambiance. A few of the things we were lucky enough to take in...

Some amazing barns that were a few miles from where Grant grew up about 45 minutes west of the city. He has a lot of family in the area so as we traveled from one house to another, we got to take in the view. These shots were taken from the car window as we drove by. As pretty as it was, I was not interested in being out in that snow to take a few pictures.

Now to the City! These were some shots from Greektown. As you can see, all the snow melted and the sun came out for most of our visit! It was really nice. The blue restaurant the Pegasus is where we ate on our honeymoon. Aw, memory lane. This shot also taken from the car...

Here is another restaurant Artopolis from Greek town where we ate this visit thanks to the Zagat Chicago book (a must have for any city you will be eating in). It had very yummy Mediterranean fare with the best baklava you have EVER tasted. Greek town has such cute restaurants!

Of course, you gotta love the Illinois politics. Some very shady stuff going on right about now.

We took advantage of the free day at the Museum of Science and Industry and on the way there drove by the famous Grant Park (where Obama and many of his supporters celebrated his presidential victory) and Buckingham Fountain (that was closed unfortunately due to construction).

A highlight for me was seeing the famous Water Tower again that survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. My grandparents spent a lot of time in Chicago when they were first married as my Grandpa attended Northwestern for dental school (my dad was born there actually) and they have a painting of the Water Tower in their home. I sense a tradition starting. It is quite beautiful.

On New Years Eve, we headed up to the Hancock Observatory which did not disappoint. Here Anne and I are washing windows to earn the 20 bucks it cost to get a gander of the city from the top.

Here we are getting ready for our personal audio tour of the city from way up there which was also included in the price to go up to the top. It was really informative and took us all around the city.

The best part of being up in the Hancock Observatory was this... watching the sun set on 2008.

Here is a cool shot I got looking out onto Lake Michigan and Navy Pier, but in the background you can see the silhouettes of people on the other side of the Observatory looking out onto the horizon after the sun set. Watching the city transition from day to night was quite impressive from way up there (93rd floor) and well worth the price to go up. I always love the city skyline at night and I think Chicago has the best skyline I've ever seen. I HIGHLY recommend this observatory (better than the Sears Tower because it gives you a view from the middle of the city and not on the outskirts) if you ever find yourself in the Windy City (which coincidentally got it's nickname from it's politics and not the wind).