A Chicago Bachelorette, Part I

Last weekend I made a quick trip up to Chicago to celebrate one of my best friends bachelorette party's.  Planning a party in a city I'd never been to was a bit challenging but thanks to lots of internet searching and local friends suggestions, we came up with an exciting night.

pretty skyline

I flew into the city early on Saturday morning.  Christina and another bridesmaid picked me up at the airport and we headed downtown to check into our hotel and explore the city.  We were lucky enough to stay at the Waldorf right in the middle of everything (thanks Caitlin!).  It was the most amazing hotel I'd ever seen and I never wanted to leave.

hotel lobby chandelier

We spent the next few hours walking down the tulip lined streets of the Magnificent Mile and looking at all the fun stores.  We stopped at the Water Tower Mall (and the American Girl store) and made plans to return for St. Patty's to see the river dyed green.

Chicago river

sears tower

After about a mile we made it to Millennium Park to see The Bean!  I dragged the girls under it to take the typical tourist pictures.

the bean!

trying to figure out the photos

apparently I couldn't figure it out

Next, we fought some more wind (Chicago really is the windy city!) to see Navy Pier.   I loved the look of the pier and thought it would be such a fun place to hang out on a nice day.

navy pier

Of course we had to ride the giant ferris wheel.  It offered us perfect views of the entire city skyline.

freezing on the ferris wheel

We were officially frozen at that point so hailed a cab to take us to fulfill my demand request for Chicago pizza.  Christina selected Lou Malnati's and it turned out to be the perfect choice.  I loved the thick buttery crust that Chicago is famous for but I think I need a few more taste tests to settle my debate of NY vs. Chicago pizza.

We walked off some of our pizza with a few more shopping trips before returning to the hotel to set up for the big night...