“It is hopeless for the occasional visitor to try to keep up with Chicago-she outgrows his prophecies faster than he can make them. She is always a novelty; for she is never the Chicago you saw when you passed through the last time.”
~ Mark Twain “Life On The Mississippi,” 1883
People asked me “why go back to Chicago? You were there last September!” I think Mark Twain’s quote sums my thoughts up about that matter quite well. It also helps that my wife and I scored awesome flight and hotel deals, we couldn’t say no. I went into this trip less planned and organized than the last. We saw all of the typical things you might want to see in the city last time, to me this trip was more about relaxing and seeing what the city offers.
We arrived in Chicago around 10 AM local time. No real issues on the flight, but Southwest was BUSY in Philadelphia. This was the first time we had a line going outside to check in luggage (make note of that if you are traveling out Philadelphia using Southwest). We easily found our way to the city’s public transportation in the airport and off we went. Our hotel is basically located right at the subway exit which was great, since I didn’t have to carry our luggage several blocks like last time.
We were able to immediately check into the hotel (we didn’t ask, they offered). So far, our hotel has been great (I will do a full review at the end of the vacation). After freshening up and answering some work emails (I know I am a sucker), we went to lunch. I spotted a Thai restaurant that we both wanted to try.
[Star of Siam]
Name: Star of Siam
Location: 11 E. Illinois St.
Website: StarofSiamChiago.com
We didn’t read about this place before, we just saw it and walked in – and I was glad we did. The food was very good. I will always rate Thai cuisine based on Somsak (Voorhees, NJ) and I thought Star of Siam was very close in quality, but the food was different, more Chinese in sauces, but the combination of ingredients was very Thai.
The service was excellent, the decor was open and inviting. Great experience.
[River Tour: Chicago’s First Lady Architecture Tour]
Location: 112 E. Wacker Street
Website: CruiseChicago.com
After lunch we walked over to the tourist center to see if there were any tickets for shows during our stay. Slim pickings for the weekend as we were told weekend tickets get released on Friday morning. I saw a adaption of a