Our Chicago Trip

First things, first, it got rained on. Yes, the whole time we were there, it poured and poured till it actually set a new record for the most rainfall in one day.And I had so many things planned and I have been researching from the time Marco told me we were going to Chicago which was about 6 months before the actual trip. But you know what, it was all good. A hotel room, a king sized bed, cable t.v., rain tapping our window and someone to cuddle up to, I can not ask for more.

The first day I got there, We headed to Portillo's for early dinner. I had their Famous Italian beef Sandwich and Marco finally had his Chicago Dog. They were both good and satisfying although they did not have the WOW that I was looking for. That night, we both relaxed and settled in and just spent the whole night together.

The next day, we woke up early and hoped that the rain finally stopped, but alas, the weather man said that it will unfortunately rain all weekend long. So we dressed up, had breakfast at the hotel atrium and enjoyed hot chocolate while watching the rain fall. I met some of his co-trainees and we talked about going into downtown Chicago at around lunch time so, we did. Well, at least Marco and I did. It took us almost 4 hours to get to the city which usually takes just 45 minutes because the train tracks we're flooded and everybody else was in their cars causing huge jams on the roads. And that was on a Saturday!

We eventually found our way to White Castle since Marco has been craving for their sliders and there were no White Castles near DC. We ordered their mini cheeseburgers and ordered some to take back to the hotel. They were good. We were so hungry that we scarfed down 6 burgers each in under 5 minutes. We were soaked from walking and we both decided to just head home. But because I have been whining about wanting to get a bubble bath, Marco suggested we get off a random station in the loop and magbakasakali that there's a drugstore nearby. So we got off Jackson and voila, a Walgreens and a Garrett's Popcorn all in one corner! Yay! We got our stuff for our bubble bath and dessert all in one stop!

When we got back, we soaked in the tub for a bit and then headed downstairs to have dinner at Old Chicago. We ordered Spaghetti with meatballs(yum!) and their Chicago Seven Deep Dish Pizza(yum! yum!). We had a couple of beers and then retreated to our room for a good night's rest.

The morning after we slept in and took our time to get out of bed for breakfast. When we did, we saw that it was still raining out and decided to just stay in. We watched TV and napped till about 5 pm. When we woke up, we saw that the it was a bit brighter outside. We looked out and saw that the rain has stopped! I was so happy! I made aya to go downtown but Marco was a bit hesitant since he had to wake up early the next day for his training. But I gave him the best pout I can give and begged him to say yes, until he finally gave in! Yay! So at 6pm we were headed to downtown, and did not know what to do first, but we knew that we had to go up either the Sears Tower or the John Hancock Observatory. SO we decided on the latter because in the same building, there is this lounge where instead of paying to see the views, you can get yourself a drink and enjoy the same view you'd see if you went up the tower or the observatory! So we went up the Signature lounge and enjoyed a drink and an appetizer. The elevator ride only took a little over a minute to get up 96 floors! The view from the top was awesome. You can see the lights of the city and a dark portion which is the lake!

After that we were headed towards our late dinner. Deep Dish Pizza. And the people we asked had one answer to "Which joint serves the best deep dish pizza?" and it was Giordano's! We walked a couple of blocks and got there hungry and excited! We ordered a small pizza before seating and it still took them almost an hour to make our pizza. The result was a gooey, meaty, yummy pizza that looked like it was made out of pure cheese! We only had to eat one slice each before we felt full and then took the rest of what seemed like more than 5 pounds of food.We headed home and had another good night's sleep.

The next day, Marco left early for his training which left me with the whole day to waste. So I took my time eating breakfast and I read half of my book (which he gave me for my bday! thanks marco :)), got a bit of a tan and headed up for another bubble bath. Finally, he came back and we had Greek chicken for dinner and cheesecake for dessert.

Overall it was a fun trip even if we got rained on. What's important (sabi nga ni lorraine) is that we were together. So, im hoping we can go back and enjoy Chicago even more.

for his birthday

I think it's cool that our birthdays are so close together. Double celebrations are always fun. Celebrating both our days felt like it lasted a whole month. Last August, I planned to take him to a French restaurant that serves the one thing he's been wanting to taste, Calf brains. So I made reservations and made sure he was free that weekend, told him to dress up and bring his apetitte along.

When we got there, I thought the place was empty. La Chaumiere is a small French bistro in Georgetown and my French co-teacher gave me rave reviews about it. When we got inside, the place looked like it was a small dining room in a country cottage that was almost full of people. It had a fireplace in the middle and tables were placed close together that it felt like I was obliged to introduce myself or say hi to the other table at least.

They offered a prix price menu the whole month of August so we chose from their special menu. I had the Garlic Mussels and he had the Pike Dumpling in Lobster Sauce for starters, then I had the Rabbit Casserole and he had his Calf Brains. For dessert, he had the Creme Brulee (which I wish I had) and I had the Apple pastry with Vanilla ice cream. Everything was so good. We didnt do the wine pairing but instead bought wine and cheese from Whole Foods to bring home for our midnight snack.

After our trip to Chicago (YAY!), we promised to make tipid and do cheap eats instead of splurging on lunches and brunches and dinners.

Oh and my very best friend in the whole wide world got married last August 23. Congratulations to Cha and Abe! :)