Hotel
Sat 09/01/07 (day 1)
Our Trip
I learned so much from reading other people's journal that I have to contribute by writing about our trip.
We stayed at the Fairfield Inn Midway. This was overall a good a hotel - service was fair, room was clean, breakfast was good, the trolley to and from the Midway Airport was never more than a couple minute wait. There wasn't a schedule for the trolley to the airport, you just let the front desk know you were ready for pickup and they called the trolley. It worked really well. Get the number of the hotel from your trolley driver so you can call the hotel for pickup when you are ready to come back to the hotel. The Midway Hotel center is definitely the way to go if you aren't going to be in the city at night. (http://www.midwayhotelcenter.com/). We stayed in a smaller room with only a double bed, it was right next to the elevator and had bad wireless connection strength BUT overall we really recommend the hotel. Our stay was $89 a night.
The Orange line L train was easy to navigate. The free trolley system would have been really nice BUT it doesn't come ever 15 minutes it's more like 30 minutes and it doesn't stop if it is already full. So you could wait 30 minutes just to watch it pass by. We wish we had learned more about the bus system. There were tons of buses going everywhere. With the CTA visitor pass (great deal), you can also ride the bus. The 124 goes from the Art Insitute to Navy Pier, the 10 goes to the Mueseum of Science and Industry. The CTA website is really good. They have a trip planner that tells you which train and bus to get on.
Gold Coast Hot Dogs was good but nothing super special. It does have "Chicago" hot dogs and it's good for others (like my husband) who don't like hot dogs. He had hamburger and really liked it.
Gordanio's pizza was very good. It takes 30 minutes to make so order an appetizer. It is in driving distance from the Midway Hotel Center.
We went on Labor Day weekend. The streets were very crowded so we didn't really enjoy the Magificent Mile or Navy Pier. There were just too many people. Other times of the year are probably less crowded and more enjoyable.
In the early mornings before lunch the Art Insititute and Muesum of Science and Industry is not as crowded. Get a map online of the Art Insitute and plan your day before you go. Your tickets are good all day so you can go in and out as you please.
The Muesum of Science and Industry is cool and worth the visit. It is a huge place - you could spend all day there. They have a decent cafeteria (reasonable prices, for a tourist attraction). My husband and I split a taco salad for $8, included soda. It gets really crowded, so if you eat plan lunch early or late to avoid the crowd. My only complaint about the Muesum of Science and Industry is the Prenatal Development exhibit. I was sadden by the display. At first I thought these must be plastic replica's of babies but they were not. They are 40 "specimens" who "to the best of our knowledge, their survival was prevented by natural causes or accidents." (from the MSI website "http://www.msichicago.org/exhibit/body_prenatal/index.html"). We drove to this Muesum, parking was easy, drive was easy from the Hotel.
Great trip :) Chicago is a cool place.
We stayed at the Fairfield Inn Midway. This was overall a good a hotel - service was fair, room was clean, breakfast was good, the trolley to and from the Midway Airport was never more than a couple minute wait. There wasn't a schedule for the trolley to the airport, you just let the front desk know you were ready for pickup and they called the trolley. It worked really well. Get the number of the hotel from your trolley driver so you can call the hotel for pickup when you are ready to come back to the hotel. The Midway Hotel center is definitely the way to go if you aren't going to be in the city at night. (http://www.midwayhotelcenter.com/). We stayed in a smaller room with only a double bed, it was right next to the elevator and had bad wireless connection strength BUT overall we really recommend the hotel. Our stay was $89 a night.
The Orange line L train was easy to navigate. The free trolley system would have been really nice BUT it doesn't come ever 15 minutes it's more like 30 minutes and it doesn't stop if it is already full. So you could wait 30 minutes just to watch it pass by. We wish we had learned more about the bus system. There were tons of buses going everywhere. With the CTA visitor pass (great deal), you can also ride the bus. The 124 goes from the Art Insitute to Navy Pier, the 10 goes to the Mueseum of Science and Industry. The CTA website is really good. They have a trip planner that tells you which train and bus to get on.
Gold Coast Hot Dogs was good but nothing super special. It does have "Chicago" hot dogs and it's good for others (like my husband) who don't like hot dogs. He had hamburger and really liked it.
Gordanio's pizza was very good. It takes 30 minutes to make so order an appetizer. It is in driving distance from the Midway Hotel Center.
We went on Labor Day weekend. The streets were very crowded so we didn't really enjoy the Magificent Mile or Navy Pier. There were just too many people. Other times of the year are probably less crowded and more enjoyable.
In the early mornings before lunch the Art Insititute and Muesum of Science and Industry is not as crowded. Get a map online of the Art Insitute and plan your day before you go. Your tickets are good all day so you can go in and out as you please.
The Muesum of Science and Industry is cool and worth the visit. It is a huge place - you could spend all day there. They have a decent cafeteria (reasonable prices, for a tourist attraction). My husband and I split a taco salad for $8, included soda. It gets really crowded, so if you eat plan lunch early or late to avoid the crowd. My only complaint about the Muesum of Science and Industry is the Prenatal Development exhibit. I was sadden by the display. At first I thought these must be plastic replica's of babies but they were not. They are 40 "specimens" who "to the best of our knowledge, their survival was prevented by natural causes or accidents." (from the MSI website "http://www.msichicago.org/exhibit/body_prenatal/index.html"). We drove to this Muesum, parking was easy, drive was easy from the Hotel.
Great trip :) Chicago is a cool place.
Planned Activities
Sat 09/01/07 (day 1) - Bedford Park, Chicago
Thing to Do
Thing to Do
Sun 09/02/07 (day 2) - Chicago
Thing to Do
Thing to Do
Thing to Do
Mon 09/03/07 (day 3) - Chicago
Thing to Do
Thing to Do
Thing to Do
Shopping