Going north, south, east, west - Chicago UPDATED 1/7 About This Page:

[chezp]

This is the fourth part of this multi-stop trip report.

It all started here with the pre-trip report, then continued here with the New York section of the report. The most recent thread about our Walt Disney World adventures can be found here.

Now it's on to the next stop - Chicago, which this thread will cover, before heading over to Disneyland in California and our final stop of Las Vegas.

[chezp]

Friday 24 October – part one: proper deep dish pizza!

We were woken up by the alarm at 5.00, as we had to get going for our 8.10 flight with Southwest. A quick shower later and we were ready and off. Mark headed to go and get the car, while I headed for front desk, as we hadn’t had our bill through the door yet. They are getting very late with them these days, as usually whenever we’ve checked out this early before, it’s always been there.

I got two shocks when I left the Beach Club Villas. The first was how humid it was outside and the second was the fact that it was running really hard. I was so glad that I was going to the front desk and could stay dry. I made it a few minutes later, after dropping my coat on the way and having to go back for it and then having to forage for my room key to let me into the main building, as it was so early. All the charges to the room sadly tallied up with the recollections of my spending. I say sadly, as that’s how I felt when I saw the total amount!

I headed outside and Mark was waiting there for me and then it was off to get some fuel at the Hess gas station. As non-Americans, we have to go in and put a credit card down to pay, as we don’t have a zip code where our card is registered. I got chatting to the guy serving in there, who said that gas over here must seem very cheap to us. You could say that. $39 to fill up the tank. That’s about £28 at home and we’re still paying £60 to fill up, so yes, it’s way cheaper than at home.

That done, it was off to the airport in what can only be described as appalling weather conditions. The rain was just relentless. Full credit to Mark for driving in that. That can’t have been fun at all. :

We made it back safely and returned the rental car and headed into check our bags in. We were told that one case was over the weight limit by 2lbs, but that was easily rectified and all four were on their way. We cleared security with an extra check of my case, because it had so much electrical gear in it. Well, I didn’t want to put my camera chargers etc. in the suitcases, did I?

We headed for the gate and had our breakfast of coconut bars from Disney and waited for our flight. The last time we had flown with Southwest, it had just been boarding in either the A, B or C groups. This time, you have numbers as well and board in sequence. They have posts with details of where to line up. It’s a great idea and worked really well, even if the guy in front of us couldn’t quite fathom it out and had to move behind us. I gather it’s a new way of doing things and it’s a great improvement.

I’ve never got off the tarmac so quickly at an airport before. My goodness, we literally taxied out and were off, no waiting at all. The flight was very bumpy through much of it, so bad that they suspended the drinks service at one point and did the cabin checks way earlier than usual, as we came into land.

When we finally got down on the ground, we were 20 minutes early though, which was pretty impressive. We had a few problems finding the signs for baggage claim and fortunately we weren’t the only ones. An American couple asked where it was and when the woman pointed out the signs to us all, I don’t know how we missed them.

We quickly got our cases and after exchanging cell phone messages with Lesley, we found her outside in the car, just before an over-zealous staff member tried to move her along.

I was amazed at how quickly we were in the city. The traffic looked bad for a little while, but really it wasn’t and soon the skyline was in view. I would share photos with you of it, but I can’t, as my camera was in my hand luggage in the trunk of the car. It’s a shame, as it was a lovely view. We soon found the hotel and Lesley dropped us off, so that we could check in and get ourselves straight. Fortunately, our room was ready, but it took a lot longer to sort ourselves out than we had figured, as the room was exceptionally small. Look at these photos and you’ll see what I mean!


Therefore, we had to get out what we need for the next couple of days, as living out of a case would be hard, as there was no way we could leave them open while we were here.

Lesley texted us just as we were heading down to the lobby to say that she was there, so that was great timing. I was so pleased when her first words were “I’m quite hungry”, because that meant food and boy, we were both hungry. I also knew that it meant proper deep dish pizza at Pizzeria Due, which was literally just a block from our hotel. This place is legendary and it’s where deep dish pizza originates from, so out we headed.



When you walk in, it’s clear that it’s retained the feel that it had all those years ago when it first opened. It’s a bit like stepping back in time 20 or more years and it’s got a real homely feel to it.



The food here is really good as well, although I’m not sure what that means for my love affair with pizza in the future. This was very different to any pizza I’ve ever tasted before and it was lovely. As I say, I’m not sure I can go back to the told style of pizza now. I went for the spinach pizza, after finding out that my first choice, the three cheese and pesto one, would take 40 minutes to cook. I was too hungry to wait that long. Mark had a similar issue, as his first choice would’ve taken that long, so he went for the sausage one. The deal we had for lunch also included either a salad (my choice) or soup (Mark’s choice). This was a great first dining stop for Chicago and many thanks to Lesley for picking up the bill – a very unexpected surprise.


Mark’s soup

My salad


Pizzeria Due:

Appetiser 7½ 9½
Entrée 9½ 9
Service 9 9
Atmosphere 10 10

Average score: 9.19

Our first stop after lunch was to pick up our Go Chicago Card from concierge in one of the city’s shopping malls. It turned out that the guy who served us, Charles, was born in England, but moved over here at an early age.


Street performers


Next: we know more than the local!

[lauren-roxy]

Glad you arrived in Chicago safely!! Boy that hotel room is a tight sqeeze!! Looks like you had a great meal and wonderful company!!! We loved Chicago when we traveled there a couple of years ago and found it to be quite a friendly place and very family-friendly!! Can't wait to read more!!

[Grammy Grumpy]

Great start Cheryl. I am so sorry DH and I missed out on this part of your American trip but can't wait to hear about your adventures!

[mcc0313]

Glad to have you back Cheryl...hoping your birthday trip to Paris was amazing (it is kind of nice knowing that once we finally finish your American Trip we can partake in hearing about your Paris adventures I hope )

Sorry you had a bumpy flight bit glad you made it over to Chicago early and that Lesley was there waiting....Lunch looked very delicious, that deep dish pizza really looks good.

Can't wait to hear more.

[Wendyismyname]

Love it!! Great update Cheryl!!

[DrDolphin]

Great start in Chicago! Just catching up on your trip - that was one SMALL hotel room!!!

[karmic]

Wow- what a small room!
Pizza looks delicious.

[HeatherD]

Wow this makes me miss Chicago! And holy cow (tm Harry Carey) that was one small room! Did you crawl over the bed to the other side or did you dodge the TV as you went around the bed?

[Meggera]

Cool! You are in Chicago. We didn't get to explore Chicago when we were there...just drove through. A shame, too. There is so much to see and do there. Your hotel room looks like the one we had in NYC a few years ago. Teeny tiny! The pizza looks terrific. Great update, Cheryl!

[tinker_me_happy]

WOW and I thought the rooms in NYC were small!!! The pizza looks ! I don't think I could have waited 40 minutes for a pizza to cook either :

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures!! Glad you made it there safely and Lesley is there to guide you around! Lunch looked delish!! More please!!

[amandal]

Sounds like you're off to a great start. I see you've been using the black and white setting on the camera more often . . . . Those photos are really great.

[ilovedisney247]

Pizza is making my hugary . . . haven't had dinner yet! What hotel did you stay at? I'm thinking about traveling to Chicago to visit a friend later this year!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by mcc0313

Glad to have you back Cheryl...hoping your birthday trip to Paris was amazing (it is kind of nice knowing that once we finally finish your American Trip we can partake in hearing about your Paris adventures I hope )

I hope to start on the Paris trip report in a few days' time, so it will be running at the same time as this one. I'll try and remember to update in this thread when I start that one.