December Chicago Trip

Hosanna and I were thrilled to join my Mom and sisters on their Chicago trip this year. We went the weekend before Christmas and stayed for about three days-just long enough to get a little taste of an amazing city and thoroughly worn out from walking!

(The little hunchback by the church door? That would be me.)

We loved the bustle of the city, the amazing stores, and the great cuisine. The following posts give you a glimpse into some of our fun!

Lincoln Park Conservatory

We spent an afternoon wandering through a beautiful conservatory and the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Me and my little sis!

It was great to have Hosanna along with us!

Oh wait! I just spotted some very unusual tropical flowers on this bench!

Breakfast at the West Egg

Here we are, getting ready to enjoy a scrumptious breakfast at a bustling cafe right off of Chicago's Magnificent Mile, called the "West Egg". They kindly gave us our very own room! You know me-I'm not very good at A) Remembering to take pictures and B) Actually taking them. When I did think of it, we were usually sitting down for a meal. So, it may appear from my Chicago pictures that all we did was eat! (Almost true, but not quite).

My lovely sister Naomi, sporting Mom's beads which several different individuals wore on the trip.

My spunky sister Keturah, wearing her adorable scarf and sweet smile.

Hershey's Chocolate Store of Chicago

This was a really neat store!

Two of the sweetest things I found at Hershey's!

Giordano's Famous Pizza

The wait was worth it. What a pizza!

Left to right: Naomi, Hosanna, Mom (Tammy), Keturah, Mara, Esther
Some very refined ladies enjoying an evening on the town.

One piece will fill you up!

Okay maybe not so refined. Me and my horse teeth were hungry!

Breakfast at Panera

Panera is a favorite spot for all of us. Somehow, it seemed even more special in Chicago!
(I told you we did a lot of eating.)

Chinatown

We spent the better part of our last day in Chicago exploring one section of Chinatown. I imagined it felt a little like actually being in China, if that is possible! Some of the grocery stores and specialty shops (our eyes bugged out at the $75 dried deer tails and assortments of fish stomach and parts) had only non-English speaking hosts. It was really fascinating.

The food was fabulous. Here we are at a restaurant called, funnily enough, "The Mayflower". It was the real deal. And yes, Mara could gracefully use chopsticks while I used a fork and STILL managed to drop food in my lap.

We also ordered random items (most of which we had never heard of before) at a Chinese bakery to share and sample on our trip home. Bean buns, lotus flower puffs, and sesame "cookies", to name a few. Most of them were delicious, while a few initiated the gag reflex. :)

Ghirardelli's Chocolate Shop

This was definitely a highlight of our Chicago trip. Some of us went here oh, about three times.

Of course we're happy! We're only drinking the best hot chocolate EVER!

Mom and Mara are dreamily enjoying their chocolate confections as well.

After walking in the bitter cold, it was like entering a magical chocolate wonderland!