WE LOVE CHICAGO!

Well, Mr. Bean had a seminar in Chicago this weekend so I went along for the ride. The last time I had been in Chicago was in the fall of 1993, so it had been awhile to say the least. The funny thing was that the last time I had been I was a college student who hadn't been to NYC yet. I was amazed at the beauty of Chicago and how clean it was.Well, 12 years later, and having been to NYC numerous upon numerous times, I can still say without a doubt that, although I enjoy NYC, it can't hold a candle to Chicago. It's still a gorgeous city and still amazingly clean. The two issues that NYC has up on Chicago are (1) pizza; and (2) handling the homeless.

I got in late Friday night - we stayed at the Allerton Crowne Plaza - very nice hotel in an amazing location of North Michigan Avenue - we had a conference rate of $169 per night. Hotel was beautiful and you could see the history. Nice size king bedroom - bathroom a bit small. Conference rooms were beautiful on the top floors with amazing views.First night we ordered Lou Malnati's deep dish (deluxe) and mozzerella cheesesticks. Cheesesticks were boring like you see everywhere. I enjoyed the pizza while Mr. Bean most definitely did not. It was just too much for him. So we think we're both NY pizza lovers which is a good thing as we live in upstate NY.

Next full day was spent in the conference. We went to dinner that night at the Rosebud Steakhouse which was amazing! Great steaks. We ordered the Saturday night special prime rib which was only $35 each - and I say only $35 because the steaks were the biggest thing I had ever seen in my life - they had to have been at least 2 lbs each. Mr. Bean and I could have shared one with some left over. And for such a large piece, it was grilled masterfully - a lovely medium rare. We were with a group of 10 and no one could get over how big the steaks were. Thankfully, one of the group lived in Chicago so she gladly took over our leftovers.

Afterwards, we have a glorious nightime walk along North Michigan Avenue which was really pretty on a nice crisp night.

Sunday, we didn't have a flight out until 6:30 pm so we had the day to have fun. We were proud of ourselves because we walked all the way from 701 North Michigan down to the Planetarium. We went to the Millineum Park which is something everyone should see. It was beautifully done with a wonderful open auditorium area (and boy would I love to see a show there) and these amazing monuments including what looks to be a large silver kidney bean that shows the reflection of the city and a double tower monument, each with videos of Chicagoans' faces smiling, etc. I heard in the summer water shoots out to look like they are spitting which sounds neat. We then walked to the Buckingham Fountain and then on the museum area which has the Fields History Museum, The Aquarium and the Planetarium.

We originally intended to go to the Planetarium because Mr. Bean loves them; but he decided to be sweet and picked the Aquarium because he knew that would be something we would both enjoy (as I don't like planetariums). Boy were we happy we did! At first, I thought the $23 admission fee was expensive, but it was totally worth it. It was the most amazing aquarium I have ever been in! It was absolutely amazing! And, although I love Disney, the Living Seas even could not hold a candle to it.

They have an amazing HUGE section completely showing life in the Amazon; a section showing Under the reef - life of the coral reef near the Phillipines - so many amazing fish and a great tank where, if you stand close enough to the glass, it seems like sharks are swimming above, beside and below you, it feels like you are in it. We stood there watching for a really long time.We also loved the oceanarium section which had a dolphin show, Beluga whales, the cutest otters showing off and then a HUGE surprise for me - PENGUINS! They were the cutest thing ever and I could have watched them for days - they were fascinating!

We spent 3 hours in the Aquarium and it felt like minutes and we didn't see everything. There was also a nice restaurant and food court area which I thought was a good value with great views of the lake while you are eating. Mr. Bean tried the Chicago Hotdog but once again thought it was too much.I'm so jealous of Chicagoans because you have such an amazing museum system. Is there a season pass or membership you can get for all of them together? I wish we had had time for the planetarium, art institute and fields, but this just means we'll have to go back!

We then went to Ghiaredelli's for chocolate and coffee - YUMMY! - it was such a nice day we sat outside people watching. Question though, how in all of Chicago did the two chocolate places, Hershey's and Ghiaredelli's end up on the same corner?I had really wanted to go to Bistro 110 which was right next to Ghiaredelli's, but we didn't have time.Now I'm excited to make plans for a trip solely for fun!