I was coming to St. Charles, IL to be part of the faculty for a consulting class at work and decided to make it a city getaway with a Lisa, my work bestie who was also teaching. It is a beautiful city in the fall and I loved every minute of it.

We had a pretty laid-back agenda of exploring and eating. We started with a walk to a dinner place across the river, where we realized why this city is called windy. Dinner at Dearborn was an excellent start. We took Friday to walk around and explore. Our hotel, the Chicago Autograph, was pretty convenient to Michigan Avenue, which, beside the lake, is my only big landmark. It was right next to the parking garage building from one of the Bond movies, where I would never park myself for fear of overshooting a little.

We did the quintessential 360 view with me getting a bit dizzy and not doing the Tilt again (just like the first time) and walked to the Navy Pier; the sun was warm, and we sat down and just felt like we were at the ocean. The lake truly is stunning. We walked by Northwestern University (a gorgeous location, btw) to the Bean and along the river, enjoying all the people walking by in costumes for their Halloween parties! We opted for a Mexican restaurant (Mercadito) to at least get us into the Dia de las Muertes vibe, as everyone but us was in some sort of colorful spirit. Awesome food though!.

The next day, we were going to be real tourists and signed up for an architectural boat tour on the river. This was fancy! White linen tables and champagne with choices – inside and outside options so you don’t freeze or fly away – and lots of neck turning up above you to see some amazing buildings. This was news to me – the diversity and uniqueness of the skyscrapers – the history was fascinating, and my neck was aching. I loved being a tourist; it took us out to the lake a bit, where I was holding on for dear life from the wind though – forget attempts for any hairstyle.

We ended the evening in the Laughing Factory, a famous comedy club with great seats, good drinks, and lots of laughs. Awesome day and awesome trip – I definitely need to do more girls’ trips to big cities – or anywhere.