One of my favorite places to travel, especially in the summer is visiting the City of Chicago. Chicago is such a hub, it has two major airports within thirty miles of each other. O’Hare and Midway Airport. Midway Airport is within such a residential community, that is not uncommon to look out the window when landing and see residents of the neighborhood lounging in their swimming pools during the summer months. I tend to fly more frequently into O’Hare Airport. The prevailing winds tend to be from a westerly direction, so the approach to O’Hare will take the flyer across Lake Michigan with a beautiful view of the skyline of Chicago.
In addition, Chicago is a great city with many different neighborhoods. Many of the neighborhoods have their own charm and individual characteristics. The city is home to two baseball teams the Cubs and the White Sox. The Cubs are located on the north side of the city and the White Sox are located on the south side. The strolling around the home of the Cubs, affectionately known as “Wrigleyville” is a great place to see historic homes and architecture.
Another great point about Chicago is the unique food which is found in Chicago. If you are enjoying pizza, you have never had a pizza until you try a Chicago Deep Dish Pizza. These pizzas are filled like a fruit pie with incredible toppings. Giordano’s is one of the most famous restaurants that sell these pizzas.
If pizza is not up your alley, another great Chicago dish is the Italian Beef Sandwich. Smothered in the juices and topped with cheese and peppers, one of Chicago’s best known chains for the Italian Beef is Portillos. Portillos was actually started as a hot dog shop in the early 1960s and has grown to one of the largest restaurant chains in the US.
Chicago hot dogs are also unique as Chicagoans put tomato slices, pickle spears, short peppers on their hot dogs. So when you stop in Portillos, you can get both a Chicago style hot dog and Italian beef sandwich.
After filling your belly with the great food, you can take an elevator ride up to the top of the Willis Tower formerly known as the Sears Tower, which is the second tallest building in the US. Another skyscraper that is closer to the lakefront and allows for visits to the top is the John Hancock Building. If you have time, going to the top of both is great!