Chicago day 1

Lunch at Rick Bayless' Mexican restaurant Frontera Grill. For the non-foodies, Rick Bayless is the man who has been credited for bringing Mexican cuisine (not the every day tex-mex, but real authentic Mexican regional cuisine) to the American public. No, you can't blame him for Taco Bell! Our experience at Frontera Grill was fabulous. Service was timely and friendly, all the food (and we ordered a lot) was so good, especially the appetizer samplers! Great signature margaritas too. The building houses two restaurants: Frontera Grill for the more casual diner and Topolobampo that is fine dining, so what ever your mood, this is your place. Make sure you make a reservation though. Dinner time is sometimes impossibly busy.

The highlight of the day: Architectural cruise. We walked down to Navy Pier and purchased our tickets. The boat-line is called Shoreline Sightseeing. Our boat was a two-level ship with a bar on the bottom level and a bunch of seats squeezed right next to each other on the top level. At first I thought I was a little too close to the lady right next to me, but once the narration began, I didn't even notice there was still somebody next to me. The tour guide was funny and very informative (what tour guide isn't the latter?), and the one hour cruise goes by faster than you can imagine.