Get outta town!

Chicago day trip

On Saturday, Adam and I day-tripped to the Windy City. His sister Laurin was in town from New York for Lollapalooza, so we made plans to grab food with her, then spend the day bumming around. For lunch we went to The Kerryman; we were drawn in by the extravagant florals and sidewalk dining, but eventually highly disappointed in the grilled cheese and brutal sun. Still, getting the Buettner siblings together whenever possible is a must, and it was great to spend the afternoon with Adam's big sister. 

 
















Soon it was Lolla time for Laurin, and Adam and I made our way to Michigan Avenue for some serious window shopping — but not before plugging the meter. Truly, Chicago, you're only hurting yourself with this whole parking insanity. Return to the meter every two hours? Or download some pre-paid app with a $20 minimum that auto-refills to $20 if your account dips below $10? Or pay $28 for three hours in a structure? How!? How. I'm not made of quarters. If someone in Chicago knows the secret to day-parking and not crying, please tell me. And if your solution is to take the train next time, Adam and I already thought of that.

Parking rants aside, we stopped at stores here and there — Adam sighing as he took the escalator all the way to the top floor men's department time and again, myself lugging ten things to the dressing room and talking myself out of every single piece, every single time. Before we knew it, two hours had passed and it was time to — you guessed it — plug the meter. We stopped at the car to pay up and adjust our feet for more walking: Adam padded his toes with stray napkins from my glove compartment and I changed into Keds (because why wouldn't I pack three pairs of shoes for a day trip?). 

We walked down to Navy Pier, which neither of us had ever visited before. It's definitely worth the trip, as our friend Nick told us, at least once in your life. There's a long boardwalk bustling with people that stretches down along the lake. Walking away from the city, you can look back and see the skyline — a very pretty sight. Then there's the Coney Island scene complete with carousel, ferris wheel, and swinger. But we just rested our feet and people-watched. 

One check of the time and we knew we would be due back at the parking meter in little less than an hour. So we decided to check an item off my Chicago bucket list: the Nutella Bar at Eataly. There's an Eataly in New York City, too, but I've never been. It's really like a cavernous, modern Italian marketplace with bars for meat, cheese, produce, and fresh pasta. Still rather full from lunch but knowing we'd be hungry somewhere around Kenosha, Adam and I shared a focaccia pizza slice, then made our way to the Nutella bar. 

I'm happy to report that the Nutella was top-notch. However, I regret to inform you, Nutella Bar owners, that I have some ideas for menu improvements. Ever hear of Biscoff cookies? But really, despite the mediocre Nutella pairings, parking theivery, aching feet, and a grilled cheese sandwich with more orange marmalade than cheese (true story), we had an amazing day. Probably just because, I don't know, getting out of town and hanging with your S.O. in a (slightly) foreign city is a refreshing, spark-inducing little adventure.