The Shedd Aquarium - Our Day in Chicago

While we usually try to stick to destinations that are a little off the beaten path, the Nomadas found ourselves in Chicago for a weekend since we had a wedding to go to in nearby rural Illinois. Chicago turned out to be an interesting and fun city and we wished we had more time to explore. If you haven’t been to Chicago it’s a city worth visiting. Immediate impressions are it’s a clean modern city with impressive skyscrapers, a fair amount of green areas and parks, and a diverse population. The thing that really sets Chicago apart from other cities is being on Lake Michigan with a large waterfront area. Being by a large body of water with grass and bike paths gives the city a different feel- more balanced and relaxed. The other great thing about Chicago is the museums- the city really has some top notch museums and there’s bound to be something that appeals to almost everyone.

Transport

For our trip, we flew into Chicago Midway. Chicago is served by two major airports O'hare and Chicago Midway, O'hare is nicer compared to Midway, but Midway is smaller although a bit dated and easier to get out of quickly. Either will work and you can price shop for the best deal. Traffic in Chicago is not great, especially getting to and from the airports and around downtown. If you are not traveling with kids, consider public transportation and/or taking taxis, especially for a short trip. Also parking can be quite expensive, for example parking at the Aquarium was $25/day. At this price it might have been cheaper for us just to cab it over since we weren’t that far away.

Lodging

There are plenty of lodging options in Chicago. Location is key if you don’t want to waste too much time getting to and from places. Choose accommodations near the attractions you are interested in. For us, we rented an old brownstone apartment on AirBnB. If you are traveling with kids renting an apartment or house is often a better option than a hotel- having a kitchen and being able to cook your own meals is huge if you have small kids and even if you don’t it can save you a lot money compared to eating out. We choose a place near the lake roughly equidistant between the Museum of Science and Industry and the Field Museum. The place we stayed was a basement apartment in an old Brownstone. It was a sizable space and the host was very accommodating, setting up extra beds and letting us in early. Since we had some other family members meet us in Chicago we all crashed in the apartment and the owner setup several large blow up mattresses in the living room so everyone had a bed. The apartment had a minimal kitchen, but it was fine for our stay- Mariano's Grocery Store was just across the street with a huge selection of prepared food, beer, wine, and groceries. The area the apartment was in is a recently gentrified area that is undergoing a transformation. It was in a relatively quiet area and was nice to The apartment was within walking distance to the lake, but with a toddler opted to drive.

Activities

There’s a lot to see and do in Chicago, but we had limited time and after mulling it over with our extended family, we decided to visit the Shedd Aquarium. We were all impressed with the Aquarium, there was a huge circular tank in the central room with tons of exotic fish, sharks and other animals swimming around. It was difficult to get the kids to leave the giant tank and go explore everything else. The stingray petting pool was a favorite with our 11 year old and also the show with dolphins and beluga whales. In addition to all of the aquatic animals there were some play areas that our toddler really liked. The submarine was his favorite and we struggled to get him to leave. The aquarium had it all, including strange animals from jungle rivers, fresh water lakes, and oceans from around the world. Downsides to the aquarium were the sheer number of people- it was pretty crowded and was difficult to see some of the displays with so many people. We did go on a Saturday and it would probably be less busy in the week. Also, it’s worth getting tickets online ahead of time as the lines for tickets were long and could eat up an hour or so of your day. The other thing that was annoying was the number of gift shops, there were gift shops all around the aquarium including the one at the end that you pretty much have to walk through to leave. The gift shops are especially enticing to kids with the stuffed animals and trinkets and our 11 year old kept wanting to hang out in the gift shops that seemed to be around ever corner. The other thing I would recommend is getting a fairly early start if you are visiting a museum and probably plan on one a day unless you are pretty fast. The museums close relatively early and there is a ton to see at each one.

We’ve also been to the Museum of Science and Industry on a previous trip and that was also a great museum. If you haven’t been up Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), there are impressive views of the city and lake. I remember it being more expensive than it should be and having to wait in line to go up, but still felt like it was worth it to do once.

Food

After the day at the Aquarium we went to a Spanish tapas restaurant downtown, Cafe Iberico. The sangria was good and tapas were mixed, some were quite good, others meh, but overall everyone enjoyed dinner after a long day walking around. The other night for dinner we ordered a Chicago style pizza from Giordano's and that was an experience. Those who are not familiar with Chicago style pizza will likely be shocked at the sheer size of the pie: over three inches thick and roughly 16 inches in diameter! The pizza certainly weighed over 10 lbs, having multiple layers of meat, cheese, and crusts - including a sweet flaky pie crust somewhere in the hot, cheesy mess. While it was certainly filling and it was good, I have to say I prefer NY style pizza; the pie-like sweet crust wasn’t our favorite. Food options abound so you can find what ever you have a hankering for or keep it simple and grab something on the go.

Lake Front

On our last day in Chicago before we headed to Peoria for the wedding, we took a walk along the waterfront and I have to say that was one of the nicest parts of the trip. We wished we had more time to stroll along the lake, the kids were having fun and we had bluebird views of the city. Knowing that traffic would not be great getting out the city we said our farewells to the Windy City and hit the road!