Europe 2012: Day 5 - Budapest

We stayed on the Pest side of Budapest because it was closer to most of the things we were doing and had more affordable restaurants and places to stay. Our hotel was near the main square and the room was huge. It was actually probably bigger than most American hotel rooms. It had a mini-fridge which we mostly just used to put milk and juice in. We also had free wireless internet and breakfast included in our stay.

I planned a late start for our first day in Budapest because I knew we would be getting in really late and would probably be exhausted. When we woke up, we got dressed and went down to breakfast, which was full of options. There were several hot options and lots of fruit, cold cuts, cheeses, yogurt, etc.

Of course, it was raining, so on our way out, we stopped at a souvenir shop and got a little poncho for Anya to wear.

We did a Pest Town Center walk (courtesy of Rick Steves). It went through a lot of smaller sites in the middle of the Pest area and was able to help us get our bearings in the city. We walked along the Danube for a bit and saw the first McDonald's built on the other side of the Iron Curtain. It opened in Budapest several years before the curtain was lifted so it was a huge deal for an American restaurant to be opened there. We were told that when it first opened, people were afraid to eat there because they thought the secret police were watching, and when they finally did eat there, they dressed up to go because they thought it was a "nice" American restaurant.

The walk ended at the Great Market Hall, which was awesome. There is a whole floor of nothing but food: meats, wines, cheeses, paprika, streudels, etc. We perused the food and got a piece of apple streudel for the equivalent of an American dollar.

The second floor has restaurants and souvenir booths. We stopped and got Langos to split. Eric and I decided that Langos should be the next big Fall Festival food. It is basically an elephant ear (without the sugar) with sour cream, a white cheese, and garlic. You can add other toppings, like meat, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc., but the sour cream, cheese, and garlic are the basic toppings. I know it sounds super wierd, but it was so good. Hopefully someone will decide to use this in October!

Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel to rest for a bit. Then, we headed back out for a free Communist tour. This was probably one of the best  parts of our visit to Budapest. The tour was led by two people who were around 40 years old, so they had lived half their lives under communism and half their lives under a democracy, so they were able to give a very objective view of how things were. We got to hear a lot of personal stories about what it was like during communism, what it was like when the Soviets left Hungary, and what it is like now. We were told that a lot of people in the country are angry. They expected a better life under democracy, but things were much harder than they expected, because they did not know how to make decisions on their own and did not have the means to make much money. So while they are free (and happy about it), things are still very much in transition. There are also people who were part of the secret police during communism that are still working within the government. The names of these people have never been released, so some Hungarians are a little leary of trusting the government, knowing that some of them could have been the same people who worked under the old communist system. There were also a lot of financial issues with communism. At one point, the government could no longer afford to provide the people with everything it promised.

Another interesting thing we saw on the tour was the monument the Soviets erected when they freed Hungary from the Nazi's. After they left, it was decided that the monument would stay, but now the US Embassy faces the monument, so it is somewhat ironic that those working at the embassy have to pass the monument every day to get to work and there is a nice view of it from the windows. The best part of this is that there is a larger-than-life statue of Ronald Reagan on the other side of the monument that faces both the monument and the embassy.

All in all, the tour was wonderful, and not just because it was free. It would have been worth a lot!

After the tour, we went to the train station to buy our tickets to Vienna. We had been told on the tripadvisor forums that it was better to just wait to buy them once we got to Budapest. We stopped at the grocery store for some snacks and headed back to the hotel before dinner.

We had dinner at Lugas Etterin. For approximately $30, we got wine, an appetizer (asparagus wrapped in bacon and covered in cheese sauce), a dish that consisted of chicken cooked in yogurt (which was actually pretty amazing) and parsley potatoes, chicken in mushroom sauce and noodles, bread, and sponge cake. The food was fairly cheap and was absolutely amazing. Hungarian food is apparently very savory and rich.

Despite the rain and being tired, we actually had a good first day in Budapest:)

Europe 2012: Day 4 - Madrid/Budapest

The morning of our last day in Madrid, we got up a little early to finish packing up everything and officially checked out of the hotel, though they allowed us to keep our bags there since our flight to Budapest wasn't until very late in the evening. The original plan was to find somewhere for a quick breakfast before going to Mass. However, there was nothing open in the area we were walking around in. It was so wierd, because even at 9 in the morning, everything was dead. We had brought some food for Ani, so we ended up feeding her breakfast outside the church.

We attended mass at the Basilica de San Francisco, which is absolutely beautiful - way more beautiful than Cathedral de Almudena. Of course, the mass was all in Spanish but we were able to participate in some of it.

After mass, we went to the El Rastro flea market, which is supposed to be really famous. It was crazy! There are streets upon streets of booths where people are selling anything and everything (except food, unforunately - Eric and I were starving because we hadn't had much breakfast). There was one whole street of nothing but paintings. Another street was nothing but shops selling birds and booths selling accessories for pet birds.

Next, we had lunch at Cafe de Milan, which wasn't too far away from El Rastro. We had another calamari sandwich, a tortilla espanola sandwich (a sandwich with a potato cake-type "thing" on it), garlic mushrooms, wine, beer, and a salami sandwich for Ani that she didn't eat much of.

After lunch, we headed to Retiro Park where Anya got a balloon from Minnie Mouse. Here's a picture of Anya and I...

We also stopped for ice cream on our way to another art museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum. It was a good museum that had a lot of different kinds of art, including a few impressionist paintings, which is what we enjoy the most. We spent about an hour and a half there. Anya slept through some of the museum which made things a little easier.

We stopped for coffee on the way back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and then took a taxi to the airport. We ended up having dinner at the airport, which was highly overpriced and not that great, of course.

I was really nervous about our flight because we were flying a budget airline. There are a lot of random rules about luggage and carry-ons when you fly on a budget airline and I worried a lot about whether or not ours were ok. The plane was delayed about an hour or so, and the only good thing about that is that there was no time to deal with measuring each piece of luggage because they were just trying to get everyone on the plane. Anya did not have her own seat for the flight, but the seats were grouped in trios, and apparently no one really wanted to sit by a couple with a small child, so Anya sat in her own seat for awhile. Before we boarded, she was really antsy, so I walked her around in the stroller until she fell asleep. Of course, she woke up when we got on the plane, but did fairly well until near the end of our flight. However, we didn't land until like 1230 in the morning (it was supposed to be 1130). Luckily, it didn't take long to collect our luggage once we had landed, and we had hired a driver to pick us up at the airport since it was so late. The driver was super nice and got us to the Hotel Carat in not much time at all.

We got extremely lucky and Anya fell asleep on the way to the hotel, and we were able to change her into  her pajamas and put her in the bed without her ever waking up. I can't believe she didn't wake up, but she didn't. Of course, we were so excited to be in Budapest, it was hard to sleep. I don't think we actually went to bed until about 3 in the morning...

 

Europe 2012 - Day 2: Madrid

On Friday, only our 2nd day in Madrid, we got up and ate some breakfast in the room. This hostal did not include breakfast (for some reason hotels don't usually include breakfast in Spain), so we had gotten some breakfast foods at the grocery. We thought the Prado (a really famous art museum) opened at 9, so we had planned to get there at 8:45 because we had heard the lines to get in were long. We took the metro part of the way and then had to walk in the pouring rain to find that it didn't open until 10, though there were already people there waiting. It was a big fiasco trying to figure out which door to go in, but eventually we got in. We bought a museum pass which got us entry to all three of the big art museums in Madrid.

There are some great pieces of art in the Prado but we weren't all that impressed. We were following a self-tour written by Rick Steves and it seemed like most of the pieces he talked about were not where they had been when the tour was written. Maybe it was because we were already a little frazzled from having to wait for an hour in the rain, but we just weren't in the mood for it.

Once we got out of the Prado, it was about lunchtime so we headed toward Plaza Mayor and got a Bocadilla de Calamari (a bocadilla is a sandwich). I know this sounds really wierd, but it was really good. We had gotten a ham and cheese sandwich for Anya because we didn't think she would eat the calamari sandwich, but she ended up liking the calamari and ate quite a bit of it.

After we finished eating, we headed for the Palacio Royal. We got audio guides with admission and Anya slept for part of the visit but started to get a little anxious toward the end when we went through the armory exhibit. We thought the palace was beautiful (according to Rick Steves, it is one of the three big palaces of Europe next to Versailles in France which we visited in 2007 and Schoenberg in Vienna which we visited later in this trip), but it had nothing on Versailles. The rooms in the interior were beautiful but they didn't have any kind of palace gardens like most other palaces we have seen. We stopped by the Almudena Cathedral right next door. It is huge but not very attractive, especially on the inside, but it was free and considered to be one of the important churches/cathedrals in Madrid so I suppose it was worth the stop.

This is us in front of the palace.

We got ice cream on the way back to the room. After changing in the room, we headed toward Plaza de Espana, which was really beautiful. We arrived early to Las Tablaos where we had booked a flamenco show. Everything we had read said that the shows got better the later they were (some of the don't start until midnight or later), but we booked the early one at 8p because we didn't think any of us would last that long. We ordered a tapa while we were waiting. It was these little toasts with brie and carmelized onions. I know it sounds wierd, but they were soooo good. They were probably the best tapas we had while in Madrid.

Anya did so well during the show. She loved watching the dancers and listening to the music, and she clapped along with the rest of crowd at the appropriate times. The show was about an hour and she didn't fuss at all. After the show, several of the dancers and musicians came over to talk to Anya. They said they hadn't even known a small child had been in the audience until the end when they stood up to take their bows. They couldn't believe how well-behaved she was. We must have gotten really lucky! Ever since the show, Anya has been "flamenco dancing" so we got her a flamenco dress from Spain that she can wear for Halloween. Here is one of the pictures we got of the show but it's not a very good one...

After the show, we went to Cafe de Levante for dinner, which was gazpacho (a Spanish vegetable soup that is served cold), seafood paella, fruit, and sangria. We ate way too much, but the food is so good in Spain that it is hard to resist!

There are tons of street performers in Spain (there were lots in Barcelona when we were there, too) and we happened to see Mickey and Minnie Mouse at some point this day. Anya got a picture with them, but she wasn't too sure about them!

Europe 2012 - Day 1: Madrid

After an approximately 7 hour and 45 minute flight, we landed  at the Barajas airport in Madrid. Out of all the countries we have landed in, Spain was probably the easiest country to get into. Normally, you have to fill out a customs and immigrations form, there is a long, long wait to get through immigration, then you get your luggage back, go through customs, and then finally leave the airport. In Madrid, the line at immigrations went very quickly, as the immigration officers seemed to be asking no questions, which is unusual. We also did not have to fill out a form this time. We were able to get our luggage and breeze right through customs and walk straight out to the taxi stand. I remember that we were exhausted, as we had only slept a couple of hours on the plane, but we were wide awake because we were so excited to be in Spain.

Anyway, we got a taxi rather quickly and dropped off our luggage at the Hostal Adriano, near Puerto del Sol in the middle of the city. It was around 9:30 and we had plenty of time to kill before our tour at noon. We went to the nearest metro station, bought a book of 10 tickets to share, and took the metro to the Atocha station to buy train tickets to Toledo for Saturday. It took a little bit of time, because we were still feeling our way around and getting used to using our Spanish again.

When we got back, we stopped and got a jamon (ham) and manchego (a Spanish cheese) sandwich. We thought Anya would eat the cheese; she normally doesn't eat a lot of meat here, but lo and behold, she actually wanted nothing to do with the cheese but ate a ton of ham. We ate in Plaza Mayor and waited for the free tour to begin.

It lasted about an hour and a half and took us through the older parts of the city. It was a really good thing to do on our first day, as it helped us to get a feel for the layout of the city.

After the tour, we headed back to the hotel to check in and get some rest. I had planned extra time to relax the first day, because I knew we would crash at some point in the afternoon. Anya had been sleeping in her stroller for most of the day, so she sat in the pack and play (provided by the hostal) and watched movies on the Ipad while Eric and I took a nap. Then, we got up and took showers so we could head out again. We took the metro to the Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida, which is a small chapel housing a large mural painted by Goya (a famous Spanish artist). Goya is also buried in this chapel. It was small, so we didn't stay long, but it was beautiful and free.

Next, we stopped a the grocery store to get something for breakfast and snacks (we had a refrigerator in the room so we could actually buy cold stuff), and then we ate dinner at a place called Casa Toni's, which was recommended by Rick Steves in his book. We ate various tapas (Spanish appetizers), including sauteed mushrooms, bread, olives, potatas bravas (fried potatoes with a hot sauce), and calamari. Of course, we had wine with our meal:)

After dinner, we walked around Puerto del Sol and Plaza Mayor and just explored a little bit, before stopping at Chocolateria San Gines where we had cappucino and churros. They were so good. Anya loved them and made a huge mess dipping them in the chocolate.

Though our first day was exhausting, it was great to be back in Spain (the last time had been in Barcelona in 2007). Because we both took Spanish in high school, we actually knew enough to decipher menus and signs and we could order food and buy tickets fairly easily. Anya had a hard time getting to sleep the first night, so we ended up putting her in her stroller and pushing her back and forth until she finally fell asleep. We only had to do this the first couple of nights (thank God!) before she became a pro at falling asleep on her own in a hotel room...

Jamaica (Monday, Day 2)

Monday, Day 2

We woke up fairly on Monday, even though we had been exhausted the day before. I think we were up at like 6:30 or something crazy, but once we woke up, we couldn’t go back to sleep because the view of the ocean from our balcony was so wonderful. So we dressed for a day at the beach/pool and went to breakfast at The Bayside, which basically has a huge breakfast buffet of just about anything you could ever want for breakfast, including made-to-order omelets, which we took advantage of several times while we were in Jamaica.

After breakfast, we signed up for a 10am snorkeling trip. We had been snorkeling the last time we were in Jamaica and it wasn’t that great. For some reason, the reef isn’t very colorful and there isn’t that much to see, which isn’t always a bad thing, depending on the kind of things you might see in another area of the ocean. This time wasn’t any different. While it was fun to go snorkeling, there wasn’t that much to see. But it was included in our stay, so it was something to do.

After snorkeling, we did a little shopping. Because Sandals Whitehouse is so far away from any of the cities in Jamaica, every Monday they bring in local vendors to set up their goods on the resort. That way, people can do some shopping local-style, and this provides a few more options than the gift shops on the resort. We bought some wood carving decorations, a dress for Anya, and a doll for Anya.

By then, it was about time to eat, so we headed over to Bluefield’s, which serves Jamaican fare. We had Bammie (a type of fried bread) and Ackie (a fruit). This is actually the Jamaican national dish. The other appetizer we had was some kind of hushpuppy type of thing. Eric had Jerk Chicken with Rice and Beans and I had a Red Snapper Sandwich with fries. Then, we headed to the beach for a bit to lay out.

At some point in the middle of the afternoon, we went to the Café and got ice cream and some pastries for a snack. Then, we met up at the pool just in time for a reggae “class,” where they taught everyone some reggae dance moves. There were lots of people doing this and it was pretty fun. Afterwards, we ended up taking another nap in the hammock.

That evening, we decided to eat at the Beach Party on the beach. It was a beach party buffet. The food was alright but we probably would go to one of the restaurants if we had it to do over. There was a band playing during dinner and then we stayed for the show, which was a circus-type show that included a contortionist, jugglers, and fire dancers. After the show, we got some coffee at the Café and went to The Bayside for some evening snacks of cheeseburger and fries before heading back to the room.

I realize it sounds like we did nothing but eat while in Jamaica, and that is partially true. However, the portions are much smaller than we have here, so two people eating 2 or even 3 appetizers isn’t really much food at all. However, I kind of like it that way because it’s not so wasteful and then you can try a lot of things. Honestly, the portions are probably the right size. At our particular resort, there were 7 restaurants: Giuseppe’s (Italian for dinner and they also serve pizzas from 3 to 5 every day), Neptune’s (Mediterranean or Seafood, open for lunch and dinner), Jasmin’s (Asian, only open for dinner), The Bayside (breakfast and lunch buffet and international fare for dinner), Café de Paris (bakery, open all day), Eleanor’s (Caribbean fine dining, open for breakfast and dinner), and Bluefield’s (Jamaican fare, only open for lunch or early dinner). There were lots of options so we tried to eat at each place at least once over the course of the week.

Jamaica (Sunday, Day 1)

Our trip to Jamaica was absolutely wonderful. We really hated to leave but having a beautiful little girl to come home to certainly made it a little easier. For this vacation, we spent 6 nights total in Jamaica, which we found to be an almost perfect length of time to spend. Of course, we had to spend an extra night away from Anya because the flight left from Louisville so early on Sunday morning. We ended up driving to Louisville late Saturday afternoon and got a “park and fly” room at the Sleep Inn near the airport. I think we must have gotten only 4 or 5 hours of sleep that night, if that, but it definitely beat getting up at 12 or 1 in the morning to drive to Louisville.

Sunday, Day 1:

We got up around 2:45 Sunday morning in order to get to the airport by 4. Of course, no one was at the check-in desk to take our luggage until after 4:30. I hate how airports insist on passengers checking in so early but then staff isn’t even present for this to even happen. Anyway, we did get our bags checked and through security with pretty much no problems. The only small glitch is that I was selected for a random security check that involved TSA swiping my hands with something to check for chemicals. I obviously did not have any chemicals on my hands and was waved through pretty quickly.

The flight itself was pretty uneventful, as was the flight from Charlotte to Montego Bay. The airport experience in Montego Bay was 100 times better than the last time. I remember waiting for what seemed like forever in the immigration line in no air conditioning the last time. This time was much simpler and the immigration line was completely non-existent until the passengers on our flight started to filter in. Also, the air was fixed, so it wasn’t as miserable as before.

After going through immigration and customs and getting our luggage, we quickly found the Sandals lounge. We were told the shuttle would be leaving for Whitehouse in 20 minutes, but we actually barely had time to grab a Red Stripe and text our families before they called us. Then we began the long (90 minute) journey to Whitehouse. The roads were much worse than before due to the potholes but we had a great driver and a much smaller shuttle than the last time, so it wasn’t anywhere near as scary. We made it to the resort in no time and were met with a welcome drink and a cool washcloth. Our room wasn’t ready yet so we grabbed some lunch at Neptune’s, the new Mediterranean restaurant. We had Seafood Tapas and Fried Calamari as appetizers and Eric had Mussels and I had a Chicken Caesar Wrap. While we were waiting for our food, we took turns running to the nearest restroom to change into our swimsuits and shorts. It felt so good to be sitting in summer clothes in warm weather!

After lunch, our room was ready and we were surprised to find that we had been upgraded. We had booked the lowest level room in the French village, which is the furthest away from everything, and ended up actually staying in a room in the Italian village, which was the closest to everything. We could also tell we had been upgraded by the kind of people we saw that were staying in that area. The room also actually seemed bigger, and like last time, we had a nice view of the ocean from our balcony.

Once we called our parents to let them know we were at the resort and to check on Anya, we went straight to the beach for a bit. When the sun started to go in, we relaxed in one of the hammocks on the beach. Then, we went back to the room to shower and get cleaned up for dinner. We had planned to go to the Italian restaurant but when we walked past the Asian restaurant, it smelled so good that we ended up eating at Jasmin’s. For appetizers, we had spring rolls, sushi, and a mushroom and wonton soup. Eric had a seafood stir fry in curry sauce and I had a beef stir fry that was really good. We don’t eat a lot of beef because it isn’t our favorite, but this was probably some of the best beef we’ve ever eaten. Instead of ordering dessert in the restaurant, we went next door to the Café de Paris for coffee, a crepe, and some pastries. We had definitely missed that place! It’s like a little French café that has coffee, ice cream, made-to-order crepes, and various pastries. The best part is that you can order as many as you want!

We then went to Le Cabaret, which is kind of like a little auditorium/theater type place where they have throughout the week. They did a newlywed game show with some of the resort guests which was really fun. After that, we stayed a little longer to listen to the band. Before heading back to the room, we relaxed on one of the beach beds near the whirlpool in our village.

Sunday was an extremely long day but it was great to be back in Jamaica. Sandals Whitehouse seemed almost exactly as it did before, though even more beautiful, as the landscaping has grown up quite a bit in the five years since we had been there. I will post about the rest of the week as soon as I get a chance!

Chicago, Day 7: Saturday, July 16

On Saturday morning, we packed up all of our things and checked out of the hotel. Then, we decided to walk down by the Chicago River for awhile. It wasn't too hot and it was still fairly early, so it was a nice walk. We went to Big Bowl for lunch and ordered Chinese and Thai. Eric and I went to a Thai buffet in London several years ago, but we're not entirely sure what we actually ate that night. Other than that experience, this was the first time we'd ever had Thai, and it was pretty good. Lately, Anya has been wanting whatever we're eating and we typically try to give her what we're having unless she either won't eat it or it's not good for her to have. We decided to let her try the Kung Pao Chicken. It wasn't that hot - at first. Anya ate the first couple of pieces with no problem, but after a few minutes, she just started screaming. She refused to take a drink or to eat anything else on the plate. Instead, she started licking the plastic mat we use at restaurants to put her food on. I know it's not really funny, but we couldn't help but laugh. Finally, Eric pulled out some applesauce and Eric got her to eat some of that and she got better.

After lunch, we got our car and headed back to Evansville. On the way, we stopped by a daylily farm to feed Eric's addiction. In fact, it was the same farm we stopped at on the way back from Michigan last summer. Eric bought several daylilies and we got back in the car to head back. We stopped at Arby's in Terre Haute for a quick dinner and then got back around 9:15 pm. Anya was up late that night because she had slept in the car so much, but she eventually went to bed.

We had a great time in Chicago. Even though we spent 6 nights there, there is still so much to see. We would highly recommend our hotel (Comfort Suites). It was right in the middle of the city and the staff was excellent. It was also nice to have an actual bedroom, kitchen, and living room. It made it a lot easier for Eric and I to stay up and watch TV after Anya went to bed. We would also recommend the CityPass. It got us into most of the museums and attractions and the whole packet of tickets was half the price of what it would have cost to go to each of them separately. For the metro, it was nice to have a pass as well. The best choice we made was to park the car and just take public transportation. The traffic is stressful and I hated driving in it to and from the hotel when arriving and leaving. It is much, much easier to just hop on the bus or the metro to get to where you are going. We just took the umbrella stroller with us and carried a large backpack as our diaper bag. This made travel around the city fairly easy.

Now that our family vacation is over, Eric and I are counting down to Jamaica!

Chicago, Day 6, July 15

On Friday, we planned to be indoors a majority of the day because it was supposed to be really hot. We went to the Museum of Science and Industry for a good portion of the day. It was fun, but I think it will be more fun in a few years when Anya is old enough to enjoy more of the museum. However, she got to see baby chicks hatching from eggs, which was kind of neat. There were a lot of interesting exhibits at the museum, but we noticed that there were so many school groups there that it was hard to enjoy much of it. The kids didn't seem to be very well behaved. When I went on field trips as a child, I remember having to walk quietly in a line, but this wasn't the case with these groups. You could barely get through some of the hallways because the kids were running up and down the hallways.

After the Museum of Science and Industry, we had planned to visit the Oriental Institute, but we were exhausted so we just headed back to the hotel instead. After a bit of a rest, we went to Buca di Beppo for dinner and then stopped by Fannie Mae's to grab some ice cream to take back to the hotel. The three of us split the ice cream and if we weren't feeding Anya fast enough, she would just help herself with her little spoon. After Anya went to bed, Eric and I relaxed with yet another glass of wine. it was a fun day but I feel like the last full day of vacation is always the worst just because the fact that you are leaving the next day is always in the back of your mind...

Chicago, Day 3: Tuesday, July 12

Because of the weather, we decided to change around our original plans for Tuesday. Also, since we had such a long day on Monday, it was nice to do something more informal. After breakfast, we went to North Avenue Beach. It is crazy to think that Chicago has beaches because we never really thought about it, but it is actually pretty nice. The water was really cold so we didn't get in much. Instead, we spent the time playing in the sand. Anya hated the sand at first but eventually played in it, though she wouldn't sit in the sand. We also had a little tent set up for her to sit in if it got too hot or sunny. She liked sitting in there eating her puffs. We brought a picnic lunch so we ate lunch on the beach and then headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up.

After spending some time resting in the hotel, we set out to take the brown line on the metro. It weaves in between office buildings and you are close enough to peer into the windows. While it was neat, it wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be and didn't seem any different from anything else we've seen while travelling in Europe.

Once we left the metro, we decided to look for somewhere to eat. We were really hungry and ended up settling for a place called Burrito Beach, though it wasn't quite what we were looking for. One nice thing about it, though, is that it was cheap. After dinner, we walked around the Magnificent Mile a little and ended up stopping at the Hershey store to get some treats. We got them to-go and then headed back to the hotel. Anya fell asleep in her crib so we got her right in bed when we got back and were able to enjoy our treats with a nice glass of wine:)

Chicago, Day 2: Monday, July 11

We got up early Monday morning so we could get to Shedd's Aquarium as close to 8:30 as possible. While we were in Chicago, we used public transportation or walked 100% of the time, so we took the bus to the aquarium because it was the easiest and straightest shot to it. Of course, while we were on the bus, Chicago was hit by a really nasty storm. When the bus arrived, we ran to the covering by the bus stop to regroup and then ran in the rain to the entrance. We had a great time at Shedd's and I think Anya enjoyed it, too. We went to a dolphin show and there was a special Jellies exhibition that was really interesting. I've never seen that many kinds of jellyfish all in one place. I didn't even know there were that many kinds, either. We brought our own lunch and ate near the dolphin pool. There was a ledge that Anya could stand up on and stand right at the glass. She loved the dolphins and kept pointing at them when they swam past her. She also liked the beluga whales. After lunch, we took Anya to the play area where she put on a penguin suit, went down the slide, and crawled through tunnels. We didn't stay long because a lot of bigger kids eventually showed up and we didn't want her to get trampled.

After Shedd's Aquarium, we headed toward The Field Museum. While this was a good museum, it just wasn't as interesting as Shedd's. I don't know if it was because we were tired and Anya was a little fussy or if it just really wasn't as good. We went through several exhibits, including the Eqyptian tomb, the African animals (to see the Lions of Tsavo), and Sue (the T-Rex). What's kind of interesting is that Eric and I were both on family vacations in the western part of the US when Sue was being discovered and they were trying to figure out where she was going to go.

After going back to the hotel, we opted to go down to Navy Pier for dinner. We ended up eating at Bubba Gump's, which was a little expensive, but good. Then, we rode the bus back to the Mag Mile and walked to the Ghirardelli store for an ice cream brownie sundae. It was amazing!

Back at the hotel, Anya didn't take quite as long to get to sleep but she was definitely fighting it. It was like she knew we were on vacation and she was too excited to sleep. After she finally went to bed, Eric and stayed up a little later and had a glass of wine before bed.

Chicago, Day 1: Sunday, July 10

We got up before 6 am so that we could leave by 8 am. Eric and I were both able to get showers and get ready before Anya woke up. After loading the rest of the stuff into the car and eating some breakfast, we were off. Unfortunately, our GPS did not know about the construction and closures right outside of Chicago so we drove around in circles for awhile until we figured out exactly how to get into the city. We finally pulled in around 3 pm. We got the car sent to the valet for parking and checked into our hotel. The nice part about our hotel room was that we had a 1-bedroom suite, meaning that we could put Anya to bed in her pack and play in the bedroom and then we could hang out in the living room until we were ready for bed. We also had free breakfast and free internet. We were on the 11th floor and had wall to wall windows in parts of the room so that we had a great view of other buildings. While we were there, Anya loved standing up at the window and looking out at the city below.

Once we got settled in, we ventured out to explore the Magnificent Mile, even though it was pretty hot out. We stopped to see some street performers who were dancing in the street, which was pretty neat to see. We were also lucky enough to meet up with Tricia, a friend of mine from grad school who lives in Chicago. She, her husband, and her son met us downtown and walked with us for awhile. Tricia was 9 months pregnant and her due date was the following day. (She actually ended up having her daughter the day after meeting us.) When we got hungry, we headed for Giordano’s for some Chicago-style deep dish pizza. We had decided that we were going to try 2 different pizza places during the week we were there and we kept hearing about Giordano’s and Lou Malnati’s. We had stuffed mushrooms, garlic bread, and deep dish pizza. The pizza was pretty good but not quite as good as I had hoped, though overall it was a good meal.

After dinner, we walked around a bit longer but then went back to the hotel. Anya was up really late because she didn’t want to go to sleep. I think she knew we were on vacation and wanted to stay up with us so she wouldn’t miss anything. We ended up walking her up and down the street at like 10:30 in the evening to try to make her sleepy. We walked around for about 15 minutes before the people started to look kind of shady and then came back to the room. Anya wasn’t completely asleep, but she had at least calmed down a little and was able to fall asleep. It was a pretty good day, other than getting Anya to sleep, and we were excited for an entire week to spend in such a beautiful city.

More to come about our week as time allows…