Chicago’s blue line makes it relatively straightforward to get from the airport to downtown, and after one transfer and a few blocks walk we were at the Park Hyatt an hour or so after we had landed.

We had stayed here previously (over 4th of July in 2013) and liked it so much we used another free night coupon to return. For this stay we had an amazing view of Water Tower Place, the Hancock Building and Lake Michigan.

After dropping off our bags at the Park Hyatt, we walked back to the El station and took the Red line to Local Option. Even though it was a Tuesday night the bar was fairly busy (thanks to a Cubs win earlier that evening) and the lone bartender was running around delivering food and drink. Thankfully, the beers were worth the wait!

For our first round we tried the Jolly Pumpkin Fuego del Otono (e) and Local Option Exorcist (l) and then for round 2 Almanac Dogpatch (e) and Alesmith Speedway Stout (l). They also serve food, so we ordered a ‘side’ of tots which was MASSIVE and tasty. People watching was fun, and as is usually the case in Chicago, everyone was quite chatty. To get back to the hotel we determined it would only be an extra $2 for an Uber, which was well worth it.

Since the weather was so pleasant the following morning we walked to Yolk for a proper mid-western breakfast. After stuffing ourselves we headed over to Navy Pier for a nice view of the skyline…

On our way back to the hotel we stumbled across a sports shop where Leandra searched out a Cubs shirt; they didn’t have her size, but a sister store down the street did. She hustled to get the shirt while I headed back to the room to finish packing and check us out. Thirty minutes later we met back up and headed to the train to O’Hare, where our overnight flight across the Atlantic was waiting for us.

bubbly and slipper socks!