Our Hotel

Of course, there are many cabs at Union Station, waiting to take you anywhere you want to go...

Lilly's first cab ride...and we were off to our hotel.

Along the way, we took some pictures of Chicago buildings.

Trump  Tower is visible from everywhere in the city.

Our hotel, the Fairfield Inn and Suites, was on Ontario Street -- just one block away from the Magnificent Mile!

In the lobby.

Hotel lobbies are smaller and simpler nowadays...

But this hotel was recently remodeled, and everything was fresh and lovely.

Lilly's job was keeping track of our hotel key, and opening the door.

We were thrilled that our room looked just like the picture on the internet.

Our window looked out the front of the hotel, so we had a great city view.

We were in the room about 10 minutes before Grandma took a nap!!

We checked out the breakfast room on the second floor. Every morning, they had scrambled eggs, sausage, waffles...yep...this is JUST WHAT I WANTED!!

Beyond the usual yogurt and toast, they had apples, oranges, bananas, cantaloupe, it was a GREAT WAY to start the day!!

I had three criteria for the hotel: location, price and breakfast. The Fairfield Inn was close to Navy Pier, all the stores on Michigan Avenue, the Hancock Building is just up the street...

I wasn't sure exactly what we'd be doing...but I knew if we stayed in this area, the possibilities were endless!!

And, how's this for a bonus? RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET -- there was a custom make-your-own pizza place ($8)...AND an Epic Burger!! Yes, we are the lucky, lucky girls...

To recap our first day:

We left my house at 9:00 that morning, and arrived in Princeton, Illinois by about 10:00. We did a little thrift store shopping, then waited at the station for the 12:30 train. We arrived in Chicago, at Union Station, at about 3:00, and were at our hotel by 3:30.

I took a nap and we went across the street to eat pizza for supper. Then, we were off to our FIRST AND ONLY BIG SCHEDULED ACTIVITY of the weekend...and we had to be there by 6:30...

Really. You won't believe it...