A Friend’s Affair in Chicago Before the Pandemic

It’s been a wild minute, aka two whole months since the start of my trip to Chicago for St. Patrick’s; but here’s why.

COVID-19 was peeking in.

The pandemic started taking turn on Thursday, March 12th. Chicago closed Tuesday, March 17th. But this trip had been planned for months, and we were going to make it possible. All our events, tours, and tastings were being cancelled little by little. Some were still happening, but we were ready with wipes, hand sanitizer and all the cleaning supplies necessary for a SANITARY trip.

So let’s pause on COVID-19.

We arrived at the Hyatt Place in Chicago. It was so convenient that our hotel was walking distance from everywhere we wanted to be at. With everything that was starting from the pandemic, the front desk helped us out of courtesy; and we’ll never forget it. The experience was one for the books, so I’d recommend it 100%, if you chose to stay here.

Side note: before we even entered the room, my sister took out the wipes and cleaned everything from head to toe- the door knobs, the whole bathroom, the remote (which actually usually has the most bacteria in a hotel room)… just about everything. I have video proof in my Chicago highlight, if you want to see.

F R I D A Y

I feel like I’ve pretty much gone to all the Portillo’s in the area because every time I tour the city with someone, I end up in a Portillo’s I hadn’t visited. YET I haven’t been to the original… so it’s goal! I only know it’s located in Villa Park, Illinois. A MUST HAVE (at least once in your lifetime) is the cake milkshake. They literally add a whole slice of chocolate cake in a milkshake. Vacation calories don’t count, right? *shrugs*

So we walked off our calories to the Skydeck, AKA Willis Tower, AKA Sears Tower. Back when I first visited, there was no such thing as “30 seconds per person” for a photo. Now, you have to figure out some poses before taking your 30-second photo and wait in a massive line… but the view is GREAT and the pictures, even BETTER! It’s also very affordable.

Look how cute my new friends are!

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We made a pit stop in our walk to Slugger’s to stop at the front of Wrigley’s for a quick photo. Sluggers is a dueling piano bar and has an indoor batting cages with arcades upstairs. It looked like a regular sports bar walking in, but the excitement grew when we went upstairs. Check out the arcades and batting cages! The bar was like no other. I can’t wait to really experience it during the baseball games.

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We originally had a tour at the Goose Island Beer Company, but it was cancelled. #ThanksCovid. We enjoyed it with a few beers and good friends, maybe bought a few souvenirs too. I definitely want to come back for a tour, since the brand is originally from Chicago since 1988.

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S A T U R D A Y

My siblings, sister’s boyfriend and I went our merry way to the bar crawl (one of the few events that wasn’t cancelled). Surprisingly, it started in the morning and purposefully ended around lunch time just in time for the green river THAT NEVER HAPPENED. We packed our lysol, wipes and hand sanitizer for every time our hands touched something new. Exploring bars during this time was a little challenging. To name a few, we went to Underground, Celeste, Old Crow and Beatnik. I have to say that our favorite was Old Crow. Just reminded us about Miami, with a rooftop (that we could barely go to because the line was so long) and the music was great.

Everything was decorated for St. Patrick’s day and there were specials for green beverages. EXCITING!

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Onto the next eating adventure… Goddess and the Baker. My sister spotted this place on Pinterest and it was a must do! It’s a very small spot, so our large group was a little much, but we loved the brunch spot. Everything we hoped for in a quick munch before our next spot.

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It felt like we walked for hours… but it was just cold. We took photos by the river THAT NEVER TURNED GREEN. To make it a little better, we ended up at LondonHouse.

CUTEST ROOFTOP EVER!

It was a relatively small rooftop area, but the view was breathtaking. They even served green beverages, which continued my hope for an iconic St. Patty’s weekend in Chicago. This would have been the perfect spot for watching the river turn green… maybe next year!

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Obviously, we couldn’t get enough of one rooftop, so we picked up my boyfriend at the hotel and met up with everyone at Cindy’s Rooftop. It had both an indoor and an outdoor area.

TODAY WAS THE DAY!

My sister saw snow fall for the FIRST TIME EVER! The curse has been broken, even through the Iowa experience. Can’t you see our happy faces?! I loved being a part of her first snow experience, as well as meeting new friends along the way.

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Made a pit stop at Navy Pier for some prime time night photos. Check out my sister’s phone quality photos- WOW! It was also a little cold… can you tell?

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Man… all this cold weather is making me hungry.

Guess what?!

We’re eating again.

Welcome to Bar Cargo. So much pizza goodness! I would call this location more of a hole in the wall. It had a vintage-cabin feel, all bricks and homey-like. We ordered based on the menu portions, but I wish the waiter would have mentioned something before. We ordered a few pizzas with different toppings, appetizers and barely made it to dessert. The portion sizes were HUGE. But thanks to the size of the group and how hungry we were, we ate everything… of course.

S U N D A Y

We donut think it would be right if we didn’t stop by the famous Stan’s Donuts. I had been wanting to come forever! I finally crossed it off my list and every inch of donut was worth it. So many selections and yummy goodness for that dessert compartment in you. The reason I say this is because even when you’re full, if you’re anything like me, you always have a small spot for dessert. We basically bought every donut, some ice cream and a milkshake. MUCH NEEDED SWEETNESS!

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We had to walk off the calories somehow… Onto our next uncanceled adventure! Our group bought tickets to a small boat cruise and because of the pandemic starting, they were only allowing limited people the day of. To our luck, we were the last “large group” that entered for the cap of 100 people. Mind you, the boat had a capacity of about 350 individuals, but because everyone needed to start being 6-feet a part, they only allowed 100 people. The next big group went on the smaller boat next to us. LUCKY US! It wasn’t St. Patty’s for nothing! *winky face*

THAT VIEW! Not the scenery, but us.

Just kidding, the scenery too…

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Of course, memories last forever when photos are taken… or maybe that’s just me.

ANYWAY

Here’s our 2020 Christmas card. You saw it first, two months later… we ARE the Cancio kids.

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The lighting was incredible. We hit my favorite spot in Chicago before dinner- the skyline. SO WORTH IT! This is the correct address if you ever want to go: 517 E Solidarity Dr, Chicago, IL 60605. I’ve been dreaming of having a picnic here. *Someone tell my boyfriend. Thanks!*

We ended the night at RPM Italian. My sister has this tradition that every trip we take, we splurge and dress up for one fancy shmancy restaurant. One of our favorites since our first visit has been RPM Italian. RPM also has two other restaurants in the area, that’s why I’m being specific. The boys had a whiskey with the RPM ice cube- actually pretty cool. I shared the octopus as an appetizer, gnocchi *pronounced nyoh-kee* for dinner and the chocolate ball for dessert. SO YUM! Every inch was worth it.

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M O N D A Y

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When I tell you that this was the best Oreo waffle I had ever had in my life, I am not joking. The amount of yummy goodness in this for hit the spot. But one aspect we all should know is that usually, the line for Wildberry Pancake and Cafe is 2-hours minimum. We waited about 2-minutes for a group of 10. WORLD RECORD!

Here’s why… the #pandemic.

T U E S D A Y

Rise and shine! We ate breakfast at Corey’s, before our flight and made the best of it!

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The governor started announcing the state-wide shutdown. We were basically in panic mode. I had to pack a bag and leave with my siblings back home for what we thought was going to be two weeks.

It’s been almost two months exactly since I flew back and everything feels so uncertain. This pandemic turned from a simple lysol, wipes and hand sanitizer movement to a nationwide shutdown.

All I can say is:

WHAT AN EXPERIENCE

Chicago, you have my heart. I’ll be back!

This trip was the last one I took before all this #pandemic got out of control. The people I spent time with and got to know were simply amazing. The trip would not have been the same without them, my siblings and our temporary sanity.

Until next time…