Friday 30 May 2025
A good day – and a warm one! It was in the mid-twenties, Celsius, today, which caused me to break out my shorts for only the second or third time in the last sixteen days.
We went downtown early, parked near Millennium Park and walked more than 5km through downtown and along the banks of the Chicago River to Navy Pier. The views are spectacular, both of the river and the iconic buildings that line it. Chicago’s skyline is probably my favourite in America, with Boise’s modest one and the foothills behind it a close second.
After we walked right to the end of Navy Pier and back, we hopped a cab to the Portillo’s outlet on Ontario Street. For the uninitiated, Portillos is a famous Chicago sandwich and hot dog shop that also has pasta available in some of it’s locations (Barnelli’s shares a handful of Portillos restaurants across the Chicagoland area). It’s been around decades and specialises in Italian beef sandwiches and chocolate cake. I’ve tried the former and can recommend, but not the latter.
I had spaghetti with marinara sauce…and trust me when I say that I really needed the 4km walk back to Millennium Park, mostly along the iconic shopping strip of Michigan Avenue (also known as the Magnificent Mile or Mag Mile, when they really want to shorten it) and across the Chicago River. I’d like to say the walk worked off my lunch but not quite.
Traffic back to the suburbs was a little wild. Took us about forty-five minutes to get down there in the morning, and ninety on the way back. After a quick stop at the Airbnb to grab some things, we went over to Jamie and Will’s for dinner.
Hard to believe that Jamie and I have been friends for fifteen years, but it’s true. If I hadn’t met her way back in 2010 in Australia, I wouldn’t have all the other friends I now do in the Chicago suburbs so trips to America would look a heck of a lot different.
A fast-moving storm did it’s thing and departed, so we were able to sit outside and enjoy the warm night. Will grilled on his new BBQ, and after dinner we roasted marshmallows in the fire pit, had a few hotly-contested rounds of Connect 4 and were entertained by Connor and Nolan. Thanks – I think! – to Will for buying me a giant can of Fosters. I can report that it still doesn’t taste any good. I guess that’s why we export it!
Thanks to the Longhini’s for a fun night!
Hard to believe there’s only two days left here in Chicago before our double flight Monday: Chicago to Los Angeles in the morning and Los Angeles to Sydney much later in the evening. Typically, the weather is really going to get warm here next week…
kitchtrips 