Last week, I reached the halfway mark of my pregnancy, which coincided perfectly with H’s and my trip to Chicago for our babymoon!
For those who don’t know, a babymoon is basically a final trip you take with your partner where it’s just the two of you before baby arrives, and it’s a great chance to connect and get excited about the upcoming changes in your lives and relationship. Yeah, it’s kind of trendy, but H and I do love to travel and so we embraced it!
We stayed in the beautiful Swissotel overlooking the Chicago River (thanks, Hotwire!). Our room had a view of Lake Michigan (and some other buildings, obviously). It was amazing!
I had never been to Chicago before and I have to say, I was blown away by what an incredible city it is.
We packed a lot into three days, while still managing to build in plenty of time to relax in our lovely hotel. Here are some of the highlights:
We took a boat tour along the Chicago River with the Chicago Architecture Foundation (which I HIGHLY recommend).
We walked through Millenium Park and stopped to take pictures by the famous Cloud Gate.
We also stopped by the outdoor Goose Island shack for some refreshments and cornhole. I was happy to discover that they make their own (caffeine-free!) root beer and it was delicious!
We visited Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears.
It’s a really interesting stadium. It originally opened in 1924 and underwent major renovations in 1978 and 2003. During the most recent renovations, the stadium was totally modernized, but they were required for historical preservation reasons to keep parts of the old structure intact. The result is a venue that, according to H, “looks like a UFO crashed into the Greek parthenon.”
The really cool part is that you can walk around the entire outside colonnade area, even when the stadium itself is closed.
We also visited Wrigley Field, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and went to a Cubs game!
The Cubs lost, but I’m told that’s kinda what they do.
The biggest thrill of the trip (for me anyway) was our pilgrimage to the Chicago Diner, one of the oldest and most famous vegetarian restaurants in the U.S.
This place exceeded all of my expectations. It was flawless.
I started with the soup of the day, a curried cauliflower soup (YUM):
H and I also split the peanut butter cookie dough shake:
This was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted.
And for the main event, I had no choice but to sink my teeth into the storied Radical Reuben:
Oh my God. I devoured every last messy, succulent bite. The mac n’ Teese was pretty good too! It was my first time trying Teese and I give it a thumbs up.
After we left, I actually started to cry a little because I was so happy that I finally got to go to the Chicago Diner, and sad because I don’t know when I’ll get to go back (that one I’ll blame on the hormones).
Our babymoon was everything I hoped it would be. Chicago is an incredible city and an absolute blast! It’s definitely a place I know I’ll be visiting again in the future.
A.Cook in the Making 
What did they use to make the Rueben? It looks amazing.
It’s very thinly-sliced seitan marinated in pickle and beet juice and other spices to give it the color and flavor of pastrami. It was SO GOOD.
What a fun trip!! It looks like you had a great time, and you really packed a lot into 3 days. I’ve been to Chicago too many times to count, and yet there were still several things you did that i’ve never done there. (Although, I’m not a sports fan, and so I guess it isn’t terribly surprising. But still, I like the history of sports stadiums, even if I’m not into the sports themselves.) I definitely want to hit that boat tour the next time I’m there.
I’m so glad that the reuben lived up for you!!! I would have hated it if after all the hype you were like, “Eh, it was okay, I guess…” As you know, I looooove that sandwich. I’m glad that you got the chance to experience it for yourself. And hey, you can always make it at home if the cravings get too much. (And the seitan freezes well, so you could save portions of it to enjoy as a quick sandwich once the baby is born!)
Speaking of baby, how great do you look! You’re looking wonderful. I hope the pregnancy is going smoothly for you.
Thanks, Cadry–you’re so sweet! We are very fortunate that everything is going smoothly so far 🙂
I definitely thought of you while I was at the Diner! What an amazing place. I am definitely going to try making the sandwich at home.
What a fun babymoon trip! And your bump is adorable. Congratulations on the halfway mark. I loved my second trimester and hope that you’re loving yours, too!
Thanks, Becky! Second tri has definitely been good to me so far–it was definitely the right time to do a babymoon.
That curried cauli looks great. Lets think about doing that next time we are together.
Absolutely! He and I were actually saying during the meal that it tasted like something you or I would make 🙂