**Bimbi & Jenn920**

Re: **Bimbi & Jenn920**

• jenn920

  

  May 2011 edited December 2011

  Hey!
  
  I am so bummed.... we decided not to do Chicago this year.    With the house and wedding, we just are overextending ourselves (the time aspect more than the money aspect).  Plus I am the "groomslady of honor" for my friend Chad's wedding, and that was one of two weekends that worked for his bachelor party - so that's what we'll be doing instead.  I can't believe I am missing the 20th year tour!!!  And this amazing caravan deal that they'll probably never do again!!!!  Ugh.  Have a blast for me, I am SURE it will be AMAZING!!!!!
  

  
  
  
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• Sara191431 member

  

  May 2011 edited December 2011

  In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_minnesota-minneapolis-st-paul_bimbi-jenn920?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:81Discussion:d2c8f748-5e11-4a41-bd08-69153d7492faPost:2196a19b-fa10-4695-aec4-e48b324e7a86">Re: **Bimbi & Jenn920**</a>:
  [QUOTE]Hey! I am so bummed.... we decided not to do Chicago this year.  :(  With the house and wedding, we just are overextending ourselves (the time aspect more than the money aspect).  Plus I am the "groomslady of honor" for my friend Chad's wedding, and that was one of two weekends that worked for his bachelor party - so that's what we'll be doing instead.  I can't believe I am missing the 20th year tour!!!  And this amazing caravan deal that they'll probably never do again!!!!  Ugh.  Have a blast for me, I am SURE it will be AMAZING!!!!!
  Posted by jenn920[/QUOTE]
  
  Yeah it sounds like you have a lot of more important things going on!  We weren't planning on going to any of the shows but we've been dealing with a very stressful issue so we thought it could do us some good, so decided the hell with it and let's do it.  So yeah I'm excited, obviously they'll be around next year for you!:)

  Oct. 21, 2011 Wedding Bio

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• Bimbi284 member

  

  May 2011 edited December 2011

  Hey! Sooo glad you are coming! You'll have so much fun. I won't be going to the show, unfortunately :-(. As far as hotels, all of the one's you posted, but here's my take:  Wyndham Blake Chicago: This one is located in the south loop, which may be a deterrent, only because its farther south than most of the action I think you'd prefer (not THAT much further south, but still). That is, of course unless you plan to also go to some of the museums in the area, in which case it may work just fine! Its easy to get to anywhere else from though, since it IS in the loop.
  Swissôtel Chicago: This one is lovely also, but not as close to the el. Its close to shopping and nightlife though. If you plan on cabbing it most of the time anyway, then it could be fine.
  Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel (this one may not be an option): Since it may not be an option, I say just scratch it since you have SO many great options already, haha.
  
  Hotel 71: I had a friend who stayed here and really enjoyed it. Good location in River North where there's LOTS of nightlife and amazing restaurants. Also really close to the el and several bus stops.
    Dana Hotel And Spa: This place is kind of amazing. I've been to Vertigo Sky, their rooftop lounge and its sooo cool! The best view is from the women's bathroom, which I find hilarious...but its got great views all around. As far as the hotel, I've never stayed, but I've heard great things. Its close to a lot of shopping and nightlife and easily accesible by public transportation.
  
  Allegro Hotel: I've heard this place is nice, but I don't know much about it. I'd say the location isn't as exciting as some of the others, but its not too far off.
  
  Affinia Hotel (this one is $30 more per night than the others): I'd say scratch it off the list then :-) I'd say your best bets here are Hotel 71 and the Dana Hotel! Good choices, and they are in the most central location for what I believe you'll be doing :-). 
  Lastly, any restaurant recs? : I think the pizza place you are referring to is D'agostinos. Its like REALLY close to where we live (like half a block away), so we tend to order from there out of convenience, but I've always enjoyed it. Other pizza options include Giordano's (there's one in Lakeview, kind of close to Wrigley), or Gino's...those tent to be the top 2 pizza places in the city for most people.

   

   

  As far as non-pizza stuff, there are a couple of good Asian places by Wrigley. The first is Cozy Noodle (Thai), which is sort of a hole-in-the-wall place, but its super cute, the food is AWESOME, and pretty cheap. There's also Chen's on Clark, which is the best Chinese I've had in the city so far.

   

  There's a place called Twist in the Wrigley area that has good tapas

   

  Down by the hotels there are LOTS of options, but they will be a bit pricier (still worth it, IMO). Hub 51 has really yummy food and a fun atmosphere. That's just down the street from Hotel 71. Sunda is another place in the area that is amazing (lots of celebs eat there!).

   

  If you're looking for Sushi, Ra is really fun and pretty tasty. They usually have really great specials for food and drinks during their happy hour, which usually runs from 3:00pm to 6:00pm during the week, and like 8pm to 10pm on Sundays. If you're looking for an early dinner or late lunch, this is the place to go! Chen's that I mentioned above also has good sushi, as does a cute little place in Lakeview (near Wrigley) called Rollapalooza.

   

  There's SO many good restaurants, so you'll have lots to choose from! For some cheap and good eats when you're out and about, try to hit up a Wao Bao. They have delicious steamed buns! I know there's a few in the city, one of which is kinda close to Hotel 71, and another one in Water Tower where there's a Macy's and other shopping.

   

  I'm a big brunch person, so I like going out for brunch haha, Some of my faves include Yolk, Toast, Bakin n Eggs, Ann Sather, and many more haha. There's also a new place called Lulu's Pancake House that just opened up on Southport (a few blocks west from Wrigley) that's supposed to be good, but I haven't been there yet.

  Yay for getting to go to the Left Bank in person...you'll LOVE it!!

   

  Let me know if you have any other questions! I know my restaurant recs were limited, so if there's a particular type of cuisine you are looking for, let me know!

   

   

  
  

  
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• Sara191431 member

  

  May 2011 edited December 2011

  @Bimbi - Awesome, thanks so much for all the recs, and detailed responses....MUCH appreciated!  The pizza place was actually Giordano's, oops G not )  So maybe we should try one of the other ones.  But if the crust is similar to Giordano's my FI still may not like it.  But it was weird, years back me and one of my friends went two times the same weekend when we were there and loved it, but the last time it just wasn't as good, maybe we hyped it up too much too, who knows.
  
  Before I got your response I was worried the hotels would start getting booked up because some of the ones I posted had been already, more so that rate was gone, but I liked what I saw from the reviews on Dana so we booked that one!!  And I was going to do my research after work to make sure it was the best option.....sounds like it probably is so yay!!
  
  Thanks again and I'll be saving all this info!  I can't wait!  Too bad you can't make it to the show if you are a fan, they are selling just single day tickets now, just an fyi, before you had to buy all 3 days, but they must not have sold out as fast as they wanted or something...

  Oct. 21, 2011 Wedding Bio

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• Bimbi284 member

  

  May 2011 edited December 2011

  No prob Sara! If your DH doesn't like the crust at Giordano's he might actually like D'agostino's, cuz they specialize more in thin crust and hand-tossed vs deep dish.

  
  

  I would totally look into the single day tix, but DH and I are going to Lolla again this year, so I feel like he'll say no to another festival, haha.

  
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• Sara191431 member

  

  May 2011 edited December 2011

  Just checked on Hotel 71 but the cutoff date has passed for the special rate apparently, so Dana it for sure it, yay I can't wait!!!:)

  Oct. 21, 2011 Wedding Bio

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• Sara191431 member

  

  May 2011 edited December 2011

  In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_minnesota-minneapolis-st-paul_bimbi-jenn920?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:81Discussion:d2c8f748-5e11-4a41-bd08-69153d7492faPost:75936f0a-5ab4-4e60-8d67-79405b95e342">Re: **Bimbi & Jenn920**</a>:
  [QUOTE]No prob Sara! If your DH doesn't like the crust at Giordano's he might actually like D'agostino's, cuz they specialize more in thin crust and hand-tossed vs deep dish. I would totally look into the single day tix, but DH and I are going to Lolla again this year, so I feel like he'll say no to another festival, haha.
  Posted by Bimbi284[/QUOTE]
  
  We must have been typing posts at the same time, cause I didn't even see this one until now:)  Nice on D'agostino's, he probably would like that more than so we may be checking that out!
  
  I hear you on the shows, they sure can add up, especially the festivals!  Lolla will be fun though!
  
  Oh one more question, what about the airports, does it matter which one to fly in and out of?  It looks like they both are pretty close and they are the same price....

  Oct. 21, 2011 Wedding Bio

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• Bimbi284 member

  

  May 2011 edited December 2011

  Oh yeah! I forgot about that, sorry. I always prefer flying out of Midway personally, mostly since its smaller. I usually fly Southwest, which flies out of Midway, but if not Southwest, I'll fly AA which is out of O'Hare haha. I guess it really doesn't matter too much based on time and distance really. So I guess it comes down to airline preference?

  
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• Sara191431 member

  

  May 2011 edited December 2011

  Ok, cool, just wanted to make sure there wasn't any kind of big difference other than that, our airports/terminals are kind of similar.
  
  Thanks again!

  Oct. 21, 2011 Wedding Bio

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