My Mom, sister and I will be taking a weekend trip to Chicago in early Feb. We already have tickets for Wicked, plus a reservation at Topolobampo for dinner.

I would love advice on other activities to fill in the rest of the weekend!

We will spend some time shopping (little sis MUST shop!)and we've already been to the Art Institute. My suggestion to go ice skating at Millenium Park was met with polite silence. (Ha!)

Any other winter suggestions? I've looked into an architecture tour and the Clark House tour, but we're a pretty lively trio. Not sure if a tour would be the best bet for us.

We all have different interests - Sis is the shopper, Mom's the museum/house tour type and I'm the foodie. But our goal for the weekend is to enjoy our time together...and some great wine!

Any thoughts?

You can find some useful information about Chicago this winter at:

http://www.winterdelights.com/

or

http://www.877chicago.com/

Have fun!

Have you considered a theater tour. Not sure if the Wicked theater does one, but some of the other larege theaters do. Might satisfy Mom's house tour thing and make a nice tie-in your show.

Have brunch, lunch or happy hour at the top of the Hancock.

Also, maybe someone else can help me with the name...there is a place where you can design your own handbag that is fun. For the life of me I cannot remeber the name. I will make some calls.

1154 Lill is the boutique where you can design your own handbag.

I was recently in Chicago and went to the more casual restaurant which is partnered with Topolobampo. The name eludes me right now, sorry. The food was so-o-o good. I would have gone a second time, if I'd been able to fit it in. And the wait staff was very friendly. It was a very enjoyable meal. I hope you like it.

If you have already been to the Art Institute and your mom likes museums, perhaps you can visit the Field Museum of Natural History. I think this will have a little bit of something for everyone. Check it out online before to see if it interests you.

You could also visit Chinatown. Although not as big as New York or San Francisco, it is a fun neighborhood (really one street) to walk around in and do some interesting shopping.

Along the line's of someone's suggestion of visiting a place where you make your handbags (good one!), there are also several cute little stores where you can make your own candles, cushions or even frames. Have a great weekend!

Thank you sunbabe! That was driving me nuts.

Frontera Grill

That's the Rick Bayless restaurant mentioned that is "attached". Excellent and much less $$$.

www.metromix.com

Oh, getting to Buddy Guy's might be a real good idea. He's selling/ closing in June and it isn't such a "rush" as yet because people don't fully realize that fact.

Also you may want to visit the "Viagra Triangle" for a meal, drink or whatever. Hunt Club is older, and others are younger. Foodie and circuses both.

Shopping on Michigan ave is a must, great store and malls to stay out of the cold. Great restaurants as well. The museum campus has the field muesum, shedd aquiriam and planetarium all together. The muesum of science and industry is the best. grand lux cafe is good and reasonable, deep dish pizza at pizza uno or pizza due, weber grill, chop house good steak places

Yes, thanks, it was the Frontera Grill. Highly recommend it.

Is the old-fashioned bowling alley with live "pin boys" in Lincoln Park still in existence? That was a hoot.

JJ5, Buddy Guy's was sold out all weekend while we were there! I think the word is getting out!

Thanks, GT. Maybe I can get Old Daddy StayAtHome Unless IT'S a SkiSlope, to get Buddy Guy tickets NOW for March or April. All things come to an end, but this one is really going to be missed.

JJ5 I read a couple of articles that he is looking to relocate in the neighborhood.

Since his induction to the hall of fame and so many recent articles about him, it sounds like the club is packed all the time. If that is the case, I'm sure he'll relocate his cash cow.

I just hope it doesn't go upscale! I love that whole bowling alley atmosphere!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the wonderful ideas! We have more than enough options to keep us busy all weekend.

I never considered a theater tour but that's something we'd all enjoy. And I looked over the Field Museum and it does offer something for everyone. What great ideas!

I also LOVE the design-your-own handbag idea. Will definitely check that out. And Buddy Guys and the Hancock Tower are great ideas for drinking time!

And the Viagra Triangle? Thank goodness for Google...I had no idea what that meant initially.

So glad to hear others had a great experience at Topolo/Frontera Grill. I had one of the best meals of my life at Topolobampo and can't wait to go again.

Many thanks for your replies.

Just a quick post to say thank you again to everyone responded to my initial post. My mother, sister and I had a great time in Chicago, despite the bitter cold!

Dinner at Topolobampo was transcendent, as expected. Love that place! Wicked was a great show, even though I personally prefer more dance-heavy productions.

We took the suggestion of 1154 Lill and had a blast. So worth the price. And we ended up at the Art Institute although two of us had been there before. There's just so much to see that one visit isn't enough!

We did visit the Signature Lounge for drinks which was very fun, yet laid back.

Thanks again for all the assistance.