Chicago Travel

This month I am living on coffee and airplanes. August turned out to be a huge month of travel for me with our annual college girl's reunion, work trips, weddings and birthdays. In a short 31 days, I will be making 7 trips - New York (3 times), Chicago, Charleston, Louisville and Ann Arbor.

This past weekend, we held our annual college girl's weekend in Chicago. With the six of us living all over the U.S., we've taken advantage of it and visited one of our cities each year for our reunion. I have been to Chicago before, but only for probably the worst month's the city has- February and March. Graduating from Miami University where it feels like 50% of our graduating class moves to Chicago, I have heard over and over again how amazing the city is in the summer. Despite my theory that people either love New York or Chicago - mine of course being New York - I absolutely loved Chicago in the summer.

Bike riding on Lake Shore Drive.

My friend did an amazing job planning our trip with a lot of fun activities, restaurant going and touring. I would highly recommend renting the divvy bikes and riding along Lake Shore Drive. For the New Yorkers reading this, this is the same as City Bikes just different sponsor.

Boating on The Chicago River

I would also recommend renting a boat and boating on River North. We rented a boat from Vantage Yacht Club and hired a captain.

I loved that the river canals had a European feel with the beautiful architecture and river running right through the city. I was also shocked by how romantic Chicago is in the summer.

Eataly Downtown

We stopped by Eataly downtown for my New York favorite fix with a summer tomato caprese.

The view from the rooftop of the apartment in Lakeview

My friend lives in Lakeview, which is exactly what it sounds like. She is a few blocks from the Lake Shore and the view from her rooftop was amazing.

For dinner on Saturday night, we went to RPM Italian downtown, which is Bill and Giuliana Rancic's restaurant. It's an Italian restaurant and the food was awesome. We ordered Giuliana's Italian salad, the pappardelle bolognese and the black truffle tagliatelle special. We ended up being sat next to the E! Entertainment crew and had a special appearance from Giuliana and Bill themselves during dinner!

Black Truffle Tagliatelle at RPM Italian

Things To Do

1. Rent Bikes and bike along Lake Shore Drive

2. Rent a boat for the Chicago River with a captain, we rented from Vantage Yacht Club

3. Shop on Michigan Avenue and stop in Millennium Park to see the bean

4. Restaurants to try - RPM Italian, Eataly (eclectic grocery and restaurants + a Nutella bar), Bub City (barbecue)

5. Get a drink on a rooftop - bars to try J.Parker