10 Things To Do In Chicago With Only 24 Hours

Last weekend, I took a girls trip with my mom and sister and jetted off to Chicago on a Friday night flight after we all got off work, blood shot eyes and all. We attempted the trip last month but the flight cancelled, so this was our last chance because of conflicting schedules. After we landed, the smell of the subway filled my senses. It was my first time. The two hour subway ride and walk-a-thon through the streets weakened our already frail bodies. We made it in one piece to our beautiful boutique hotel in the heart of the city - The Inn of Chicago. Oh but don't kick up those heels just yet, we had 24 hours of full throttle activities scheduled ahead of us and there wasn't any time penciled in for resting. It was a jammed packed timeline with one goal - see as much of Chicago as possible. On your mark, get set .....

The three of us were only in the Windy City for a Saturday, so seeing everything wasn't really possible. So below, I've come up with a must do list of things to do and see in Chicago if you only had 24 hours to do it. Don't forget your trusty map! Or if your phone works, your GPS.

Here is a list of activities that can all be done in one day if planned accordingly:

1. The Subway -
Ride the subway and people watch. Probably not at 4 am though (trust us). Price: 3 day pass - $14

2. Willis Tower Sky Deck -
Be sure to get there before 9 a.m. or you'll be waiting in line for quite a while. Lines were already out the doors and around the block by 11 am. You can also get a "Fast Pass" for $35 and wait in the express lane. Might be worth it with this full schedule. Price: $17

3. Millennium Park -
Here you will find the famous Cloud Gate and Crown Fountain. Next door you might get lucky and catch an artist showcasing his/her music at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. It's design will make you wish you had time to catch a full concert. Price: FREE

4. River Boat Cruise -
Tired of walking? Take a a tour of the city's architecture on Chicago's waterways. Heads up! Price: $30

5. Uno -
Chicago's first deep dish pizza restaurant. Be prepared to wait an hour, the pizza is slow cookin. Price: $12 - $22

6. Portillo's -
Dare to eat a mouthful of the Chicago style hotdog? Total man food. Price: $10

7. Art Insititue of Chicago -
Escape the sun and spend a couple hours at this art museum with four floors of art. Maybe you'll be lucky and see a Vincent van Gogh! Price: $18

8. Navy Pier -
Walk down to the Navy Pier and do a little souvenir shopping and take a look at the ocean, I mean Lake Michigan. Or maybe even ride the ferris wheel

9. Locally Owned Restaurant -
Pick a locally owned restaurant in the area and dine like a local and not a tourist. We stepped into a quaint little Armenian Restaurant, named Sayat-Nova, that was located below a fortune teller's studio. The food, environment and service was excellent. Price: $16

10. Innbar Of Chicago -
End the night by sipping on a cocktail at one of the only rooftop bars in the city with one heck of a view. Price: 1 beer $6

You think you could get all this done in one day?

It's Friday!

Its Friday! I am so tired. I'm beat. My body feels as though it's been tortured. Or was that the "Rip & Ride" YMCA class that did that? Oh well, same difference. Tomorrow will be my first (and only) day off in two weeks till next Saturday. I need another vacation already! This photo illustrates my exact feeling once that 5:00 p.m. whistle blew. Anyways, I'm off to go find my massage slave.

This weeks links:
- Why us travelers hate the 9-5 (funny in a not so funny way)
- Beautiful shots of Havana, Cuba (the architecture!!)
- Hot air balloon goodness (it's on my bucket list)

Holbox Island - The Day I Almost Swam With Whale Sharks

Right there on the top of my Mexico Bucket List is - swim with whale sharks. And wouldn't you know it, we were down there right when the whale shark season was starting (June-September). I couldn't pass that up. So all three of us jumped into our rental car early in the morning and headed North from Playa del Carmen to an island on the tip of the peninsula called Holbox (pronounced Holbosh) where it was said to be the hot spot. It was a good 4 hour drive because of all the tiny towns with massive speed bumps, carts, children and dogs in the street not allowing for any movement faster than 20 mph.

When we arrived around 1:00 pm. We jumped onto the ferry and started talking to all the locals to get the scoop. Well, the scoop was we were too late for any tours. Apparently the tours head out at 7 am and by now the water was too choppy. That's just wrong. That and they said the BEST BEST time to be there would be in July. WHAT? Ugh someone needs to tell all those tour groups in Cancun they need to get some facts straight. They also added salt to the cut by saying "oh yes, you can see swarms of whale sharks, dolphins, manatee, flying stingray and flamingos." I'm telling you, I pictured a crazy aquatic zoo with tiny humans swimming in their mist. Looks like I'm heading back for a short weekend trip someday.

Disappointed and determined to make the best of our long journey we rented what I call a "go cart" and hoofed it around the island to check out as much as we could. The beaches were empty and the hotel zone was absolutely quiet. Perfect place to disconnect from the world completely. Once Andrea saw the stretch of endless beach she had to jump off the cart and touch the water. The sand was like pudding between your toes. We then parked and walked across the stretch of water to a sand bar in the middle of the ocean (where all the flamingo rest).

Tired and needing fuel we went to a recommended restaurant that specialized in sea food and ceviche. Javier's meal was so good! He had a tall class of shrimp soup, a side of crackers and afterwards a plate of ceviche tacos. Mmmm.

Before catching the ferry back to the main land, we bought home made ice cream and parked our cart on the beach to watch the sun set. Beside us, local fishermen got high while gutting their day's catch. Oh island life.

-----------
Edit: To see my second attempt to swim with whale sharks, see this post! 

Rio Secreto Tour. A River With A Secret.

One of the many things I wanted to do on my recent trip to Mexico was to swim in fresh water caves and cenotes. I knew of one company, Rio Secreto, that was known for their awesome tours of an underwater river. It was something new and something that probably wouldn't even be allowed to run in the United States. So I had to do it.

The tour started out with a 20 min bumpy and deathly hot van ride into the jungle. Once at the destination, you had to shower to rinse off any chemicals and oils that may damage the delicate cave once inside. Then we were suited up with water shoes, wetsuite, life vest, helmet and head lamp. Before the tour had started they asked if anyone was claustrophobic. I didn't realize what that meant exactly till I was fully in my wetsuite, life jacket and helmet and walking for 10 minutes through the hot jungle sweating my balls off and not able to take a deep breath for the life of me. My boobs and butt weren't even able to breathe! Now if you know me, I'm a creature of comfort to the 10th degree! This whole situation so far spelt trouble......and that I could never be a scuba diver.

Halfway through the jungle walk we stopped to get a blessing from a Mayan priest. It's Mayan tradition to ask permission before entering the cave, a cave that holds a portion of Mexico's drinking water. Imagine the importance of not upsetting mother earth. He chanted his prayers at the alter and then drifted the holy smoke on all of us with a feather. We were free to go in. I hate to use the word surreal but I think the word is fitting for what I'm about to experience.

Finally the entrance to the cave was in sight and all I wanted was in and to not think about my tight body hugging suite. The one big rule for all those on the tour was to NOT touch a single thing. But what they didn't tell you was how impossible that was. The floors were uneven and the only light you had was a tiny lamp on your helmet to see. So of course, on entering the cave we all touched the walls in order to not kill ourselves. And then inside I had one of those "I'm falling and I can't get up" moments and my legs got all kinds of limestone scratched. But it was just a scratch and I took it as a nice little souvenir to take home.

Besides the extremely funny gay guy in our group that thought his wet suite made him look fat, the best part of the whole tour was swimming in the clear blue freezing water and just bobbing up and down like ducks in life vests in it's depths. The cave was beautiful and we were miles underground swimming in it. The whole southern peninsula of Mexico is one giant layer of limestone and when it rains, the thin soil soaks it up and then lets it trickle into the caves below making for a symphony underground of water droplets. After years of this, stalactites and stalagmites are created and the water drops look like diamonds on the surface. When we were there it hadn't rained for a while so the water was lower and it was much quieter. We all sat in a semi circle, turned off our headlamps and sat in the most defining silence I've ever heard.

And of course, a tour in Mexico wouldn't be a tour in Mexico without a shot of tequila to warm us all up at the end. The tour lived up to it's name. Do I dare say surreal? Yes, I think I can.

(Photos 2 & 3 from Rio Secreto Facebook)

The Split On Caye Caulker Belize

Soundtrack to this post: http://youtu.be/q46zIMnE92E

I think my friend Chance would have to agree with me that the afternoon we spend being lazy, sipping on cold drinks and cooling off in the light blues of Caye Caulker was the best idea ever. We had been staying the past couple days on the larger island of Ambergris Caye in the beach town of San Pedro but we wanted to see what else was out there island wise. So we took a 20 minute boat ride over to Caye Caulker, walked the quiet sandy town and didn't really find much of anything. For all the hype about this island I figured there would be more. The town just seemed to be rows of bungalows and gift shops and nothing more. But we were determined to make it worth the $12 boat ride.

Erika had read in her guide book the day before that there was an area called "The Split" that is said to have good swimming, tan bodies and good drinks. It was a part of the island that had to be cut so that boats can have their way through. After having misled a group of hippies a few minutes before (they thought we knew what we were doing) we finally found it. We knew we hit the spot when a large sign read "The Lazy Lizard" and behind it were all the bodies sprawled out sun bathing. Hot and sweaty from walking the entire town, we jumped in. 

After our body temps were set back to norm it was high time to quench the thirst. The Lazy Lizard bar ended up being anything but lazy. These bartenders were top notch. They found you beaconing from all corners of the bar, got your order, made it right in front of you with fresh fruits of all kinds, fancied it up with different colors and WALA! Heaven in a plastic cup. Why yes you can have a tip senor!

Now when they talk about atmosphere, this place had it. The ocean was two steps away, names were carved into the bar stools, Bob Marley music was blaring and the locals were gathering. One Rum Punch in and I'm feeling good....I mean happy.

The rest of the afternoon went like this: Sip our drinks, talk to hippies, take a dip, listen to music and repeat. As I floated on top the salty water I could hear the music echoing through the water and into my ears. My only worry that afternoon, don't float into that fisherman's line.

Now if only I could repeat the whole day.

The In-Between

When it comes to travel, I'm a huge sightseer. I admit it. I need to say I've been there done that. But what I have noticed is that when you are buzzing around trying to get to those destinations, you're missing out on all the moments that could happen in-between. It's the in-between that keeps me traveling and loving it. It's the in-between that is the ultimate souvenir. 

My Top 10 In-Between Moments:

1. In-between biking the streets of Belize and snorkeling the depths of Shark Rey Alley, it was the canon ball jumping contest w/ the local kids that was most memorable.

2.  In-between a full day of airports & a welcome party, it was the engagement ring that was slipped onto my finger on the heights of Christo Rey mountain Gto, Mx.

3. In-between this ¡Ole! and that ¡Ole! at my first bull fight in Mx, it was the local sitting behind me asking if I was the reporter that he'd seen at other arenas in Spain & Mexico covering the Matadors. Why yes! ;-)

4. In-between dodging chicken buses in Guate & sleeping in a strange house, it was sitting with them on their couch sipping coffee, waiting for the electricity to turn back on.

5. In-between cramming 9 people into a small truck for hours and climbing Tikal, it was the 360° spin out on wet roads & just barely missing a cliff that was the most nail biting moment.

6. In-between a city tour of Arequipa, Peru and eating that nights llama, it was taking part in the crowded Corpus Christi celebrations. Brightly colored flower carpets and all.

7. In-between swaying in a hammock & talking to parrots, it was hanging out at the bar next door playing pool & drinking beer in the sweltering heat of Zacapa, Guate that can't be beat.

8.  In-between Chichen Itza & tacos in Merida, it was the running out of gas in the middle of no where at night with only the stars for company.

9. In-between the chicken bone filled tamales & a Guate masked dance, it was shooting off New Years Eve fireworks from a rooftop under a volcano while sipping Chilean wine w/ my sister.

10. In-between meeting my sponsored child & playing a game of soccer in Guate, it was his father handing me his hand crafted sculpture & shyly saying "I don't know how to thank you."

This post has been entered into the Grantourismo HomeAway Holiday-Rentals travel blogging competition.