Day 1 in Chicago

After flying out from Los Angeles the night before, day 1 in Chicago started with an easy walk around the city. We stayed at the Westin Chicago River North for the weekend, which was perfectly located smack dab in the middle of downtown. Look at those river views!

This was only my second time to Chicago, and the magical “newness” of the city certainly hasn’t worn off.

The downtown Chicago area is home to a slew of different architectural styles. This quirky apartment building, called Marina City, is right next to the Westin. It was designed in the 1960s by Bertrand Goldberg, and it features 65 floors of condos with no right angles. Take a peek at that parking situation. All that’s keeping the cars from flying off the ledge and into the river is a short wire railing. Terrifying.

After sleeping in till around 10am (and using the 2 hour time difference as an excuse for our laziness) we walked down the street in search of coffee. The eternal human struggle.

Caffe Umbria was nearby. An endearing hole in the wall with great espresso.

We both got flat whites, the perfect fuel for some city wandering.

And wander we did… look at those fall colors! I’ve really missed the greenery-gone-yellow stage of autumn that Copenhagen did so well. Los Angeles has that sunny-all-the-damn-time thing really going for it, but it makes me crave seasons like no other. Chicago was perfect — low 50s, brisk, but not miserably cold (yet), and full of that golden fall hue.

Our riverwalk slowly took us away from the water and towards Millennium Park — home to Chicago’s giant bean. But more on that later!

xx