Packers and a Boat Tour - Last Days of Chicago

On our way back to Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin (and another fabulous day of weather!) We were so lucky to enjoy such a warm streak, making both of our Packer games fantastic experiences.

Enjoying some Honey Weiss on the way to Green Bay

MrP enjoying the luxury bus

The one sign we didn't get a picture of last time around - for MrP's former fave player

Taking advantage of the festivities at the Tailgate Party at Brett Favre's Steakhouse



Shana & I with some G men



MrP & I at Lambeau Field

18" of comfort....and they're not kidding!

Love it! (The Vikings current QB is Ponder)

Enjoying the game

Clay Matthews (52) getting ready for the game (aka wetting the hair )
It's good to know he's not the sweat monger he appears to be once the game starts



MrP and The Packer Pope



A group of us from the Ultimate Fan Tour

On our last day (Tuesday), we took the advice of Shana & Jeff and headed over to check out the Architectural Boat Tour of the Chicago River.


Mallards on the river

  

Lake Point Tower, the only skyscraper in this direct area, the builders found
loopholes that were quickly adjusted before others could build in the area.

As we discovered, I'm not such a fan. I like some of the more art deco &
gothic style architecture like the Wrigley Building with it's clock tower



Kinzie Street Railroad Bridge

Batman Begins/Dark Knight anyone?! This is the old Chicago post office (left) that
functioned as the bank being robbed at the beginning of the movie.



Used to be one of the largest buildings in the world, Merchandise Mart
It used to have it's own zipcode and was only opened it's design showrooms to the public in 2010.



More my style!



MrP enjoys some modern buildings
I believe the mirrored one ahead was Trump's

Tallest building in the world with a woman-led design team, Aqua



Chicago skyline - it really was a beautiful day for a ride on the river
(which is no longer "Toxic", but now just "Polluted")

I hope to get back to Chicago one day soon! So much more to see, do (and eat!) =)

Day 2 in Chicago

Starting the day off right, we booked a walking food tour with Tastebud Tours, much like the ones we took in New York and San Francisco. This one, however, promised we would need a healthy appetite....and they weren't kidding. When you start off with two slices of Chicago deep dish pizza (which as it turns out features a heart stopping amount of cheese), you know it's gonna be one heck of a tour!

Pizano's for Pizza

 

Slice of Cheese and slice of Beef & Cheese

One of the purchased cows from Cows on Parade

Sarah's

A "Sarah's" Brownie (fudgey heaven!)

Palm Court - the Tea Room at The Drake
(one of the top tea rooms in the world)

Powder room of The Palm Court
 Powder room at the Palm Court was in the finals last year for the best rest room in America

Individual facility

Powder room hall

Powder room wall



Seating for High Tea at the Palm Court



MrP outside The Drake



John Hancock Center



We saw a couple of weddings having photos taken at this church



Waterworks building that survived the Chicago Fire
(it's literally a giant holding tube to prevent flooding)



Downtown Dogs - an apparent Chicago staple



All beef vienna sausage on a poppyseed bun with relish, onions, tomatoes, slice of pickle, peppers, mustard and celery salt.
The coloring of the relish is an old tradition that is still used today. Way back when, they thought the relish looked unappetizing, so they added green dye. (and they think this neon green looks more appetizing?!)



Chowing down
(MrP was terrified. Heck, I was terrified. Turned out it's damn tasty!)

Another Chicago Fire survivor. They pressure washed most of the building, but left a bit of the spire to show the char.



Next on our tour was Heaven on Seven, a cajun restaurant (subsequently we went back there again to try their pecan pie)



Huge hot sauce collection (free dinner for two if you can bring in one the owner doesn't have)

Gumbo (DELISH!) and Jambalaya (also very tasty!)



Funny hot sauce

with and even more hilarious description

Billy Goat Tavern

Tour Guide, Annalynne giving us the story behind the Cheezborger

Cheezborger at The Billy Goat Tavern



Love that architecture!



Outside of The Chicago Tribune features stonework from buildings around the world



Loved the look of The Allerton Hotel's second floor

Faces at The Allerton Hotel

Dessert at The Allerton Hotel (their pastry chef is amazing!)

End of Tour Photo with Annalynne



United Center



Mitika statue



Hull statue



Growing up, MrP loved Michael Jordan



Madhouse on Madison getting ready for some hockey

Ready to cheer on the Oil (while expecting a 6-1 game for the Hawks)

A whole lotta history!



Gametime, baby!



Retired numbers of some of the greats



RNH (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) - seriously looks like he's 12 on the ice with the big boys!



Madhouse is right!

The Bulls also play at the United Center



The 'boulin Wall (or sieve as was the case that night)

We got very tired of hearing Chelsea Dagger, as catchy as it is, it's tough to hear six times!



MrP and The Math Genius(as we deemed him)
 from Medicine Hat, who's getting his PhD in Economics at Northwestern

All in all, a fantastic time. I'll more pics up soon (MrP is on me to get them up!) But now all I can hear is Chelsea Dagger in my head....