1. The Avenue Hotel
2. Foodlife
3. The Disney Store and Apple Store on the Magnificent Mile
4. Whole Foods
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1. After an all-nighter at the airport on the way here, we had a well deserved nap as soon as we arrived at our very comfortable hotel [The Avenue, half a block away from the Magnificent Mile].
AVENUE Hotel Chicago: 160 E Huron Chicago · 877-AVE-5110
Warming by the fire in the lobby.
2. Then, chomping at the bit, we got our sleepy butts outside for dinner. We found Foodlife, only a few blocks away. It's not a food fair exactly, but it does have several kitchens to choose from. Perfect for the family with varying tastes.
I had a yummy sesame chicken bowl, hubs enjoyed the Texas BBQ and Spud quietly inhaled his basic grilled cheese sandwich.
Oh yah, and some ice cream.
As we arrived someone seated us and gave each of us plastic card to rack up at our choice of a variety of vendors.
Other goodies include Vegan soups, sushi, hot dogs, stir fry, Thai food, juice bar, pasta, wine and more.
Foodlife: Water Tower Place [in the mall with Macy's in it] at 835 N Michigan Avenue · 312 335 3663
3. Window shopping on the Magnificent Mile [Michigan Avenue]. Flagship store after flagship store means some great window displays. We also spent a bit of time browsing the large Disney Store. And the Apple Store. That was for mama.
Disney: 717 N. Michigan Avenue · 312 654 9208
Apple: 679 N. Michigan Avenue · 312 981 4104
4. We had the hotel rig up a mini fridge for us and decided to fill it up with breakfast foods and healthy snacks. A stop at Whole Foods did the trick.
Whole Foods: 30 West Huron Street · 312 932 9600
Even if we haven't managed to take much of it in yet, I can tell that I'm really going to like this town. It is packed full of charm, stunning architecture, old and new, fantastic public art, and world class museums. Oh yah, and all that food you should never eat like hot dogs, pizza and popcorn. My kid is going to love this town too.