Chicago Trip

   This post may be a bit after the fact, but I visited Chicago with my Grandma, an aunt, and two cousins the weekend before Thanksgiving. This was my fourth trip there, but my first time staying overnight. Needless to say, there was a lot of shopping done.
   We left from Jackson, MI early on the 21st of November in a large bus. We made a few more stops to pick up people and arrived in Chicago before noon. (It was snowing off and on all day, and sometimes it was a mix of rain and snow!) The first place we went was Giordano's, which has the best pizza in all of Chicago, but there is an hour long wait. Luckily, we were able to meet up with some family who had already ordered and been seated.

Part of the decor at Giordano's

    After lunch, we walked to Crate & Barrel, one of my Grandma's favorite shops in Chicago. Then, we went to TJ Maxx and Marshalls.

Maxx Chicago

    After perusing for a bit, Chloe (one of my cousins) and I set off on our own to the closest Barnes & Noble. We spent almost two hours there browsing! By the time we were done, it was starting to get dark outside.

Right after sunset

    We headed back toward our hotel, but made a few stops along the way. One of them included The Water Tower Place.

The Lego store

American Girl

(both Chloe and I own a few)

Ghiradelli for "supper"

Dr. Seuss mini-museum

    Chloe and I went back to the hotel, but quickly left again to watch a parade. We didn't watch for long because it had gotten very cold. We did go to a few more stores including the Disney store. When we got back to the room, Grandma and I went to bed while Chloe hung out with her mom and sister for a bit.
   In order to leave on time and get back at a reasonable hour, we had to have our bags ready to go at 7:30 am. Grandma accidentally woke Chloe and I up an hour early, but she got us Starbucks to make up for it. Grandma and I decided to explore the roof of the hotel before leaving.

Drinking Starbucks on the roof

    Since we had a few hours to spare before we had to meet the bus, the five of us met at The Cheesecake Factory for brunch. Chloe and I then went back to B&N before heading to The Art Institute of Chicago.

We found the Bean along the way

    It was a long walk, but we didn't want to waste money on a cab. It was sunnier, but a lot colder than the day before. We spent some time hunting down pieces we both wanted to see, but separated for the last hour or so as I wasn't feeling well. I sat down on a bench, but started to fall asleep. I got up to see what was near me, when I found a room of miniatures. They had different little displays from different time periods. A few of them looked like they had come straight out of a Jane Austen novel!

This one reminds me of Pemberley

   I had a lot of fun exploring Chicago again, this time in the winter. I loved seeing all of the Christmas lights and decorations. I can't wait to go again!