We stayed at the Dana Hotel and Spa. We shopped at Water Tower Place. We went to mass at Holy Name Cathedral. We ate at Cafe Iberico dining on tapas of all sorts, enjoying dessert, and two pitchers of sangria! We stayed up late (okay, late for a bunch of moms... 11:30PM) and slept in. We shopped on State St., taking in the Macy's windows and hitting Nordstrom's Rack. I have to admit I got a little choked up at the Macy's Christmas windows. It's not quite the same as when it was Marshall Fields, but I haven't been in Chicago around the holiday since I was a kid. There's something magical about seeing all the decorations. There's just something magical about Chicago. It's hard for me to express it sometimes, but I genuinely love the city. I would love to get a job down there and live in one of those fantastic high-rise condos. But I don't think that will ever happen, and that's okay. I can dream and I can visit. That will be enough for now.
I have to say it was also nice to walk around Chicago and see all the orange and navy blue. It's not easy being a Bears fan in Wisconsin! But we still sport our team colors and merchandise with pride, even if people say rude things about it! (I'm not making this up. There are some Packers fans who think it's okay to just rip into you for supporting your team. It has happened to me personally and to friends of mine. I don't engage in bashing of other teams, I just stick to supporting my team.)
We ate at the Emerald Loop bar for lunch. Then we went to Wicked. I honestly cannot say enough about this wonderful show. I started listening to the CD before we left. I just about had the music memorized... then getting into the gorgeous Ford-Oriental Theatre and actually seeing it just about blew me away. The staging was amazing. The story is amazing. I'm so glad I saw it with my girlfriends. I'm telling you, when the song "Because I Knew You, I Have Been Changed For Good" came around, the four of us were grabbing for our tissues and holding hands. The actress who played Glinda was hysterical! She actually had the actress who played Elphaba cracking up and trying not to break character during the song "Popular." The original Broadway cast may get all the accolades for launching the show, but I'm telling you... the Chicago cast was amazing! I think this is definitely in my top 3 Broadway Shows of all time. (I would say "Wicked," "Les Mis" and "42nd Street" are top three, with "Lion King," "Aida," and "Chicago" making up the top 6. )
It took us over a year to plan the trip. We almost cancelled it once or twice. But I'm so glad it worked out! I hope we're able to do another trip again soon!
