I promised a trip report and apologize for the delay, but here goes:
Tuesday, 9/20/05

Chicago is absolutely magnificent! I booked this trip in January for the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition at the Art Institute. Washington DC would have been closer (and a road trip), but we've been there many times (and I lived there in the 70's). We'd never visited Chicago (well, my husband has been several times on business, but saw nothing outside meetings) and have always wanted to visit the Chicago Art Institute anyway for the Impressionist collection.

The flights were booked with miles (convenient times, great seats), and I lucked out on Priceline, booking The Drake for the ridiculously low rate of $140/night (lowest rate was $300+ through all other resources, and they were booked up by the time we left home). Once I set about planning our itinerary, I wished I'd planned for a longer stay - I had no idea how much there was to see and do in Chicago! All of our restaurant reservations were booked online with OpenTable or through the restaurants directly online. And, the Architecture River Cruise, theater tickets, Segway Tour, along with our visitor's transit passes (five days), were booked online (with either instant printable tickets or mailed to our home). It was so convenient to arrive with transit passes in hand. In fact, an e-mail resulted in an assortment of fabulous transit maps being mailed to my home ahead of time! Also booked some terrific theater tickets.

We arrived at O'Hare Terminal C. I've connected here many times, but hadn't previously landed at Terminal C. That underground tunnel is fantastic! The lights, the music! After collecting our bags, we headed for the taxi queue, which was long but moved very, very quickly. Taxi fare to The Drake was $38 (despite lots of traffic and slow-downs). We got only a quick glimpse of the skyline along the way. Our first impression of The Drake was positively gorgeous throughout and understated swanky. Fabulous! Our room was comfortable, nicely appointed, with an amazing (if pricey - "emergency only") mini/snack bar. Bed linens (including a marvelous down comforter) looked brand new. Lots of pillows and towels. (We did pick up some water and Coca Cola the next day; made space for our own things, without incident.) Housekeeping was meticulous. Best: large desk, TWO easy chairs, beautiful and well-placed lamps (dimmer switch on bedside lamps - great for those of us who fall asleep reading); lots of outlets; none of our stuff was "rearranged" during our stay, even in the shower.

Upon arrival, we immediately tuned in to "Dancing with the Stars" (we took ballroom dancing lessons for many years so really enjoy this show). Then, we headed down to Coq d'Or for a late dinner (having already checked out the various dining option menus on the website). The menu here is extensive (mostly "comfort food") with amazingly reasonable prices. The room could not be more warm and inviting, beautiful and comfortable. Service was attentive and the food was just wonderful. When we ordered drinks, we were offered "executive", delivered in a brandy snifter with a spout, along with a glass of ice. Whoa! One of those lasts the entire evening. (We ordered just one more to share for a nightcap when heading upstairs.) Though this was only a Tuesday night, there was a pianist, accompanied by a lovely vocalist. Just perfect for winding up a long day. We thoroughly enjoyed this place! We would have loved to have stayed longer to enjoy the pianist and vocalist, but wanted to get an early start in the morning, so headed upstairs to bed.

Wednesday, 9/21/05

We were booked on an 11AM Architecture River Cruise, wanting to get an early "overview" of the city first thing. Not knowing transit times (and having gotten up a bit late after the night before), we walked around the corner from The Drake and hopped on a bus for Michigan/Wacker and the boat dock. (I had purchased 5-day transit passes ahead of time on the web, which were incredibly handy and a real bargain.) Once we arrived there, we had more than an hour before boarding time. Lucky us! Right across the street we spotted a Houlihan's with tables set on a lovely outdoor riverside terrace with a terrific breakfast buffet ($9.95). We're not usually fond of breakfast buffets, but the quality of the food on this one was truly exceptional, which was quite the relief because we were famished. Crisp bacon, creamy scrambled eggs, home fries that actually tasted like potatoes (wonderful!), perfect breakfast breads, splendid array of fresh fruit, along with really good coffee - and friendly service! All this with really good coffee, pleasant weather, and a fantastic view of the Wrigley Building, Chicago-Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, right across the river! We were glad not to have hopped on the cruise looking forward to lunch.

The advice to book this cruise ahead was well-taken. It's three or more long flights of stairs from streetside to the dock, with many boarding spots. Folks were in line already (probably not wishing to climb up, then back down) for the 1PM and 2PM tours (which were sold out)! The weather could not have been nicer for a river cruise (sunny with pleasant temps) and our guide was most informative and very, very amusing. Because the boat traveled so slowly, we were able to sit right at the front and it was only breezy (rather than very windy). We were nearly overwhelmed with the magnificent buildings all along the way. Though the boat moved slowly, we could hardly focus on each and every one - there were just so many and they went by so quickly. For anyone planning a trip to Chicago, this is an absolute "must-do", and we were very pleased to have experienced this first thing in town.

Afterward, we headed for the Art Institute. We were very early for our exhibition time, so explored the Impressionist Collection and various other wings. Truly impressive! The Exhibition was more enormous than I expected (and not as crowded), and very, very nicely done! Upon exiting, there was the ubiquitous gift shop - with lots of terrific merchandise, though. There's a lovely garden restaurant within, though we stopped in the adjacent cafeteria just for refreshments. Unexpectedly, the battery on our camera "died". It lasts so long (days and days), we had inadvertently neglected to recharge it before leaving home. No problem. I checked Vindigo on my PDA, found a nearby Ritz camera store, went there for another battery (where they let us charge ours up for a bit), and we were good to go (and now have a spare battery). We had planned to join one of the Architecture Walking Tours afterward, but (amazing for late September) it was just too hot and sunny for (two hours of) that. So, we hopped on the El and rode all about - several times. Great fun with terrific views all along the way. The cars are nicely cooled. Awesome! We had planned to head straight to dinner from downtown, but we had some time to spare, decided to go to the hotel to rest a bit and freshen up.

Dinner at Thyme (we easily got there via buses from the hotel) could not have been a better dining experience! The terrace (positively fabulous, photos and menus at their website) was open and could not, along with the weather, have been more pleasant and delightful! And, too, too, incredibly romantic! Lit just by table lanterns with candles (along with tiny lights strung throughout the trees along the perimeter). We absolutely loved this place. Sensational food. So exceptional, we could not think of any, even in Paris, or Montreal, or anywhere, we've enjoyed more. And, very, very nicely paced...which we very much appreciated, as we planned lots of time ahead of our theater tickets. Prices here (not that we cared too much, this being a very special anniversary) are astonishingly reasonable for the array and quality of the offerings (which are "imaginative", but not too much so). No way I'll ever be able to duplicate any of this at home - I'm not even going to try this time. (But, we're already planning another visit.) I consider myself an "expert" planner. Even so, dinner and theater in one evening are most difficult to schedule, usually. Despite your best efforts, you're usually either rushed through dinner or have way too much time to spare. Not this time! As we wandered out of Thyme, were able to grab a taxi and arrived at the Royal George (just up Halsted) with just a little more time than required to visit the rest rooms and get to our (front row! having been booked so far in advance) seats. We were a bit offput when the taxi driver asked "What's the best way to get there?", since it was just (quite a few blocks) up Halsted! I wasn't too sure of the exact distance or time between buses, or we could have just hopped on a bus up Halsted. The driver did explain that we looked like we knew our way around (!?!), but otherwise he had a detailed mapguide. He was so nice and charming, we didn't mind a bit.

Hershey Felder "As Monsieur Chopin" was absolutely brilliant! We knew he was fantastic in "Gershwin Alone" (which we he'd done previously, along with a world-wide tour, in Cambridge, MA). And we had very much enjoyed "Romantique", also in Cambridge, which he also wrote and appeared with Stephanie Zymbalist (George Sand) and Anthony Crivello (Delacroix). A charming and romantic theater experience. This performance was even more astonishing! We love the way he augments the show afterward, and were delighted to find a CD available for the Gershwin show, so we could enjoy that over and over again. This is NOT to be missed. He mentioned that the final of his "trilogy" will be Beethoven. So, not sure how long he will be doing Chopin, but we can hardly wait for Beethoven. We'll definitely plan an excursion to wherever...Hershey writes the "book" to these shows, and could not be more impressive "in character". And, so far, all have been directed by Joel Zwick. But, Hershey is even better as just himself, following the scripted performance . Totally warm, witty, and charming, and absolute perfection on a piano.

NOTE: For those who live in Chicago or are planning a visit I received a postcard recently "Hershey Felder in Concert - Chicago Sings Broadway" on November 12th at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. Wish we could plan to attend! (Tickets available at ticketmaster.com)

We were easily able to grab a taxi afterward back to the hotel, whereupon the driver dropped us on the backside (the frontside in all the photos), after a bit of a drive down Lakeshore Drive, which we loved for the views of the skyline. We lingered in the lovely (with lots of flowers still in bloom) park behind The Drake for a while, it being such a pleasant evening, before heading into the hotel and to bed.

Thursday, 9/22/05

We started off the day with a stop by Starbucks, then joined the "Historic Skyscrapers" CAF walking tour, which included the Rookery, Auditorium Building, Marquette Building, Board of Trade, and many others. Fabulous guide - amazing buildings. Lots of walking! Afterward, we wandered over to the Atwood Cafe in the Hotel Burnham (noting this would be a terrific place to stay) for lunch. Best and most beautiful Greek Salad I've ever enjoyed, and fantastic Fish & Chips for my husband. Awesome bread basket. Very friendly and attentive service. The weather was nice enough to enjoy a lovely lunch (wonderful food, low prices) on the sidewalk terrace, watching the passing parade. We wandered about Carson, Pirie, Scott for a bit, where I treated myself to an impromptu manicure in the OPI Department (I've never seen an OPI Department in a department store!).

Then, we explored Millennium Park. Positively glorious! "The Bean" is absolutely amazing and we got some fabulous photos of ourselves with incredible reflections of the skyline. From there, having lots of time to spare, we headed by bus for Shedd Aquarium. The building, and the exhibits within, areabsolutely incredible, along with the amazing views of the lake and the skyline from the terraces. The dolphin show was great fun. We wandered about the sidewalks and terraces and took lots of photos of the skyline as it was such a beautiful day. We've visited aquariums all over. This is definitely one of the best - with the most fabulous location, building, and outdoor setting by far.

We headed by bus, then El to the Red Rooster for an early dinner. The walk along Armitage from the El stop is lined with lovely boutiques and other specialty shops. I'd heard that reservations here are absolutely essential, though we had the place all to ourselves (from 5:30). The service is utterly charming; the place could not be more atmospheric (like a tiny place in the countryside of France), with delicious food and very low prices. (Awesome fresh foie gras starter, lovely salads, hearty main courses - pork tenderloin au poivre and beef bourguignon, magnificent desserts!) We were in no hurry, so lingered with coffee and cognac.

Because it was suddenly pouring down, really pouring down, rain when we emerged, we grabbed a taxi to the theater. "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change!" was hilarious! The cast was charming and talented, and the musical numbers were amazing. There was a Red Line stop right around the corner from the theater, so we hopped on to head "home". When we got off, we passed by Mike Ditka's on the way to The Drake. I'd read that there was a fellow who performs Frank Sinatra here, so we decided to check that out. He performs in the upstairs lounge, which is very, very nice and comfortable (though a cigar lounge). (We noted that the food being served all about looked wonderful.) We stayed a bit too late enjoying the music and visiting with all sorts of locals and other visitors. The service here is amazing (especially for such a busy place), friendly and efficient. And, the tab was quite reasonable. I think it was nearly 2AM when we dragged ourselves back to the hotel!

Friday, 9/23/05

Having been up so very late the night before, we slept in. Then, headed back to the Atwood Cafe for the fantastic Fish & Chips (it being Friday) for lunch. Today, we sat in the gorgeous dining room. Afterward, we joined the "Architecture of Culture and Commerce" walking tour, which included Reliance Building, Cultural Center (amazing mosaics and Tiffany dome), Tiffany Arcade (glorious!) at Marshall Field's, the positively astonishing Second Empire lobby of the Palmer House (now a Hilton) Hotel, along with a walk through some of Millennium Park and a visit to the (still underway, but amazing) Music Pavillion. We were quite tired (totally wiped out, actually) after this, so headed "home" to The Drake and dropped onto the bed for a good/long nap!

When we woke up, we didn't really feel like dressing and heading out for dinner, so we ordered room service. (Though, we were a quite dismayed to cancel our reservations at Osterio via Strato, with plans to visit the Redhead Piano Bar afterward, but we were just without the "get up and go".) Amazingly, the menu was quite extensive and appealing with rather reasonable prices (astonishing, actually, especially for filet mignon with bearnaise...). We nearly never order room service, except for the occasional pot of coffee or continental breakfast. And, we were positively famished, but told it would be 45 minutes. To our surprise, there was a knock at the door 15-20 minutes later, whereupon a HUGE table was wheeled into our room with gorgeous linens, beautiful china, flatware and stemware, along with flowers, and everything else imaginable (slices of lemon for the ice water, with an extra pitcher...). The food was wonderful! Fresh, hot, perfectly prepared, nicely presented. Gorgeous, fresh salads (amazing dressing), awesome clam chowder, perfectly cooked filet with exceptional bearnaise, fabulous potatoes, vegetable medley, and incredible Key Lime Pie with sorbet and real whipped cream to garnish. We were both positively astonished at the quality of the food and the reasonable prices. This is how room service should be! We tuned into some wonderfully romantic music on the TV and thoroughly enjoyed our repast in our room. Afterward, we snuggled into our incredibly comfortable bed and ordered a movie, which we thoroughly enjoyed, along with our huge pot of wonderful coffee, ahead of a really good night's sleep.

Saturday 9/24/05

We saved the Segway Tour for today, but it was not until 2:30, so we decided to head over to Mike Ditka's for the very appealing brunch menu, as we'd slept through breakfast hours.

Wow! What an extensive menu! With quite moderate prices! We were seated downstairs in a terrific booth. Peter was most impressed with the pulled pork sandwich, while I thoroughly enjoyed my (huge) Maryland crabcake sandwich. Now, I was born and raised in Baltimore, and this was a truly authentic and impressive crab cake sandwich! Both were served with a "side" of fabulous "chopped salad". The ambience here could not be more "classy" and comfortable. Though it's a "sports bar" sort of place all about, this is (amazingly) quite subtle. Service is exceptionally attentive and friendly. And, the food is positively sensational. Top quality ingredients, perfectly prepared, beautifully presented, generous portions. Loved the "chopped salad"! Extraordinary in every way, especially the bleu cheese, with awesome dressing.

We wandered back to Michigan Avenue where one bus took us all the way to the Adler Planetarium where we were to meet for our Segway Tour. We were a bit early so had time to wander all about enjoying the beautiful building and views all about. The weather, however, did not look favorable. Gray skies with lots of rain probably quite imminent. When we met our guide, we were assembled for a short video "training" session. Then, when we emerged from the building to pick up our Segways to "practice", it was pouring, really pouring, down rain. Our guide told us they don't go out if there's lightning - and there was lightning and thunder galore. Then, she told us we could re-schedule for the following day, or get a refund, or wait half an hour. The weather truly did not look promising anytime soon. Pouring, pouring, down rain, with thunder and lightning! The six of us (another couple with a couple visiting them from Wisconsin) could not have been more dismayed, nor the least bit hopeful that the weather would clear up in half and hour. But, we all decided to hang around, hoping, anyway. Half an hour later, the rain had changed to "lighter", rather than downpour. When there had been no lightning for 15 or so minutes, our guide told us we could think about heading out if we liked. So, we all decided to head out. What do you know...ten or fifteen minutes later the rain had stopped and the sun was shining! Lucky, lucky us!

Having done a Segway tour in Paris, we knew that Segways were easy to learn and great fun to ride! A magnificent way to cover a lot of ground with 360 view all over, as not much concentration is required once you get (quickly) used to it. We buzzed all about, too. No one in our group had a bit of trouble navigating on the Segways. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed this. And, our guide not only kept us out and about the full tour time (even though we got such a late start), she let us continue on for an extra half hour. There was one wedding party after another having photos taken with the skyline in the background on the beautiful grounds of the planetarium. One group, I think, had their reception inside.

Our dinner reservations were at Cite (which we had chosen primarily for the views). But, the weather was so nice, we decided we'd rather enjoy being out and about for the evening (our last) rather that return to the hotel to dress for a fancy dinner, so we hopped on a bus, then another, and wound up at Navy Pier. Now, I'd heard and read that Navy Pier is "touristy", but it was such a lovely evening, we decided to hop off the bus there and walk around if just to enjoy the fabulous views of the skyline and beautiful evening weather. After phoning Cite to cancel, we had just rounded Bubba's and headed down the pier when a rep from one of the boat companies announced that a boat tour would be leaving in ten minutes, so we hopped on. What a beautiful cruise around the lake! Amusing commentary to go with it! As we were getting off, we were advised to head for the end of the pier for fireworks which would commence in a few minutes. How lucky are we! After the fabulous fireworks (at water level as well as in the sky - magnificent!), instead of our planned "fancy" dinner, we picked up Chicago dogs and coffee to enjoy outdoors. Then, we grabbed ice cream cones and hopped on the ferris wheel (did I mention we're in our 50's?) which was great fun, of course, along with more splendid views of the city.

We headed "home" on a bus, but overshot Michigan Avenue (not being aware of the tunnel). Wending our way back on foot, we noted lots of appealing outdoor dining going on, and lots of live music all about. As we crossed Rush, I couldn't believe it when a very handsome young gent about 30 (with two friends along) stopped me and asked me to tell him "where all the great bars on Rush are located". This was really surprising, since I'm over 50 and with a husband along, but I just happened to have a map I'd printed out from MS Streets before leaving home in my pocket with same highlighted (from Vindigo and Citysearch), which he was thrilled to receive! They asked us to come along so they could buy us a round or two! But, we declined and continued on, enjoying the stroll up Michigan Avenue. On a whim, we decided to head to the Signature Room at the John Hancock. At first, we thought we might be underdressed (casual but nice). We needn't have worried about that! There was a bit of a line at the elevators and a bit of a line at the lounge, but within about 30 minutes or so we had a corner window table with views toward Sears Tower. (Though, those views from the ladies room!). We enjoyed a couple of rounds of "fancy" drinks (as opposed to our usual Scotch or Courvoisier) along with each other's company and those splendid views!. Again, service was friendly and efficient (amazing with the very crowded room and quick turnover). Prices were lofty but not outrageous (a good deal, actually, with no elevator tariff or cover charge...).

Then we dragged ourselves the last few blocks back to The Drake and fell into bed and to sleep.

Sunday, 9/25/05

Between the time we booked the flights and left home, our return flight had been changed from noontime to 7PM. Oh, well... How nice not to have to return home early our last night to pack or get up at the crack of dawn! We slept in, ordered a pot of coffee, leisurely packed up, then checked out on the TV and had the bellhop store our bags for us.

It was only 11AM, though, when we hit the pavements. The temperature was pleasant, but the skies looked foreboding... We had reservations for the New Orleans Jazz Brunch at Bistro 110, but on the way, my husband mentioned he was longing for one of those huge and delicious crabcakes (I'd raved about) at Mike Ditka's, so that's where we went. We were very lucky to get a table upstairs (in the same lounge) right away without a reservation! I was in heaven with a crabcake (fantastic remoulade on the side) and a plate of perfectly scrambled eggs, while my husband was just thrilled with his crabcake sandwich and more chopped salad (with a side of remoulade delivered forthwith upon request). Again, service was terrific, especially considering the place was so busy. Obviously, Mike Ditka operates the sort of place he enjoys himself in every way. Especially interesting are the photos all over the walls. The decor, menu, food, service - all are positively top notch. With very reasonable prices! Especially considering the quality of the food.

As we emerged, we really wanted to see as much more of Chicago as we possibly could before heading home, so we walked a few blocks to the double decker bus departure and hopped on for a "loop". Our guide was positively hilarious, and, miraculously, we made it just about all the way around before the skies opened up and heavy rain began to pour down and we had to move to the lower level. For anyone planning to visit Chicago, the river tour or the open air upper deck of a tour bus are the most fabulous ways to enjoy and appreciate the spectacular architecture all about.

We returned to The Drake and settled in at the bar at Coq d'Or for another cup of that amazing clam chowder and some coffee (just perfect on a chilly, rainy, day) before picking up our bags and heading for the airport. Taxi fare $36. Since we breezed through security (timing is everything), we had plenty of time for a last Chicago dog, and later some deep dish Chicago pizza before boarding the plane home.

The Manchester, NH airport, just 20 minutes from our home, could not be more pleasant and efficient. Bags arrive almost immediately and you can just walk to your car no matter the parking lot (a mere $8/day), after picking up some wonderful coffee at Starbucks for the ride home.

DJKBooks, so glad you enjoyed your trip here!

Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to be so thorough about the details. I'm sure that others will benefit from this.

Please come back again soon. Just let us know and we'll be happy to make further recommendations.

Thanks, djkbooks, for such a wonderful report.

I was born in Chicago and have lived in Chicagoland for all my life. I have printed out more than several copies of your trip report to give to my loved ones and friends who haven't been downtown in 35 years. Because I do this kind of trip myself and stay downtown several times a year, I am trying to get some people who would enjoy it and just don't know that fact yet, to get motivated. We (my peers) tended to have very different experiences of Chicago many years ago than what exists today.

I too love the Architectural F. tours and have been on them all. I will try a Segway next summer- yours sounded delightful.

In December I am doing a 3 day, staying at the Hotel Allegro / Cadillac Palace- very close to the Atwood Cafe location. You have given me several new ideas for some of my between AI and Field Museum visits. I saw Pompeii in Italia but now I'm going to view a lot of those artifacts right at home.

Come again soon!

Wow, dj...

Guess I can delete my puny little "Oct Chicago TR" now. #39;(
All I had so far was "Ate a lot, drank a lot, walked around a lot, watched the Marathon and came home".

Great time-Great city!

BTW...We have dreams about Ditka's "pot roast nachos" w/ extra jalapenos.

Thank you for the trip report. I live in Chicago, and continue to be amazed myself at the blossoming of our city. Now I just need more energy...and some of your planning skills!

You visited Chicago and ventured out to such non-Loop/Mag Mile restaurants as Thyme and Red Rooster?!

Wait, let me stand up.

=D> =D> =D>

What a wonderful trip report. I love your positive, open spirit!

What a detailed report! Although now in SW Missouri we've been to Chicago off and on for many years (born in Edgewater Hospital and elderly sister living there). This summer in fact had a long weekend taking in concerts at both Millennium Park and Ravinia
...and BTW a room at The Drake for $29 per night!! Don't ask me how...just found it on lodging.com.

Not long before, a week long Elderhostel exploring exhibits at the Art Institute which we've often enjoyed, plus we did architectural walk, Chicago Symphomy, Gene Siskel Theatre, Steppenwolf, etc.

Love the Lakefront and more in Chicago.
ozarksbill

I love Hotel Burnham and the Atwood cafe. Great report! Next time venturing off of Michigan ave. go to Bucktown and try Cafe Absinthe. Wonderful, it was very memorable meal. Patti