chicago :: millenium park

if it were up to us, we wouldn't have chosen chicago as a city to visit. it just never struck us as a particularly exciting city, doesn't have the same iconic features as nyc, the nostalgia and friends like virginia or the chilled out vibe like the west coast. but since daniel has it on his list of "must-run" marathons, we thought we'd better tick it off slowly.. so chicago it was! 

but this city charmed us from day one. we'd intentionally chosen to set base somewhere central and easily accessible. we wanted to be near to home in case we needed to be home for naps, or to refresh or to drop off shopping. so location was critical. what we didn't count on was how convenient our home was! we didn't have to catch the subway (except to and from the airport) which was great!! everywhere was within walking distance and we were next to the river so we enjoy many lovely walks with bubba! 

we were also amaaaazed at how dog friendly this city is! a definitely bonus because it meant that it kept blake busy identifying all the friendly dogs we passed by. and most of their owners were friendly enough to let us pet and wave at their dog! definitely helped us get over missing musashi! daniel also loved how runner-friendly it was!! tonnes of people (marathoners and non alike..) strap on their runners and are out at all hours of the day. so nice!

we especially enjoyed the weather! it was beautiful! enough to whip out the fall gear and boots but not too much of a shock to our system!!

on our first day, we decided to take it easy so we can get over the long flight, get some fresh air and move our limbs a little!! so we headed over to millenium park, home to the iconic giant bean! it was a sure winner with this kid!

the park was free and gorgeously designed! but surprisingly, it didn't have a kiddy play area!! i kinda took it for granted every park would definitely have a playground or something for the kiddos to crawl around!! but no matter... we set him right on the gorgeously maintained grass and let him have a crawl around...

while we kicked back and enjoyed a bit more of the fresh air!! 

we packed a mini picnic basket filled with yummy fruit and snacks to share. and because the park was the finish point of the race, we had a poke around and got our bearings!!

it would have been fun to be around for an outdoor concert, or earlier in summer to splash around the crown fountain (which was very interesting!) or go for a skate around in winter in their outdoor skating rink! so many possibilities! :) 

xx