A day in Chicago

Chicago. I can finally check you off my list. I live for exploring unknown territory, and before February 1^st, Chicago was one of those cities I had yet to know. There was much to see, and so little time. Chicago is a huge city with an endless list of things to see, do and taste. I naturally gravitated toward a passion of mine called FOOD. My favorite part about food is that it captures the essence of different cultures. When a close friend of mine heard that I was taking a day trip to Chicago, she told me about a place called EATALY, a fresh authentic Italian market that recently opened in Chicago and only has two locations in the U.S! I was sold. I HAD TO GO.

We originally had planned our trip around the Phantom of the Opera tickets that Madeline got for Christmas. Since that was the main purpose of our trip we weren't trying to do much else other than to just walk around and soak in the atmosphere. I appreciate how simply we grew up because just driving through Chicago in a Taxi cab was enough to give us a thrill.  

When we arrived at the EATALY I didn't want to ever leave. It was like an IKEA but for all things Italian. An entire section was devoted to olive oil tasting. The bottom floor was set up like a grocery store filled with fresh ingredients in addition to various shops devoted to Gelato, Pastries, Nutella and Coffee. YUM.

The top floor was like a sophisticated food court. There were several bars for wine tasting and appetizers and four different restaurants to choose from. Oh, it was so much fun to just be in a place where people from all over the world came to shop and dine. We prolonged our meal as long as possible and topped it off with some gelato.

It wasn't long before it was time to start making our way to the Cadillac Palace theater to see the Phantom. NOW THIS. THIS was incredible. I didn't know it was possible for humans to produce such angelic sounds. The entire show was absolutely magnificent, from the costumes to the choreography to the music and the voices. The other best part of this show was the fact that I could watch Madeline (who was in an opera this semester and declared music as her major) just completely dwell in her happy place. She was on cloud nine and secretly wants to someday perform in this musical. :) And she totally could.
It was a memorable weekend to say the least. 

Check out the Eataly here.