Day 18 - Chicago - Eataly, Wrigley Stadium, Cheesecake Factory, Blues Clubs

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We didn’t have to get up too early this morning so eventually got up walked down to California Pizza Kitchen for some food. Marnee got a pizza and I got some dumplings. While eating breakfast we heard from Nick and organised by text to meet him at Eataly after we’d finished. He and I ordered a Nutella Crepe each and he filled Marnee and I in on his whereabouts for the last couple of days. After that Marnee and I walked to the Chicago Red Line Station to catch the train out to Wrigley Field.
It only cost us $2.25 to get out there and about 20mins on the train.
We took some photos around the stadium then Marnee had messaged home to get her parents to log onto the internet as there is a live camera feed outside Wrigley Field. After some backwards and forwards we realised that it mustn’t be completely live as they couldn’t see us.
After, we headed over to the ticket counter and purchased a ticket each to do a guided tour of Wrigley field. It was roughly a 75-90mins guided tour and only cost us $25 each. We met out the front and from there we were taken down onto the field. As it was a game day they were preparing it to make it look all pretty; repainting the lines and racking the gravel. From there we headed up into the seating bowl and upper deck where our guide explained to us some history of the stadium and also the history behind the bleachers on the surrounding buildings. While up there the players were doing some practice on the field and as I was taking a panoramic photo of the field a bat came flying in my direction. Now, I’m not sure if it slipped from his hand or if he had gotten angry but he didn’t miss me by much. One of the guys on the tour went and picked it up and was allowed to keep it. If I could have taken it in my luggage I would have but it was metal, way too heavy when I still had shopping to do in Vegas. After that incident we headed around to the Jack Daniels Patio for a quick look before wrapping up the tour.
After the tour finished we headed across the road to get some souvenirs then jumped back on the train to downtown Chicago. We got back to the hotel, changed and we were meeting Nick and his new girlfriend Leah at the Cheesecake Factory at the John Hancock Building.
We’d wanted to eat here because even with all our previous trips to the USA we’d never gotten to eat at one. We beat Nick and Leah there, so got a couple of drinks at the bar before they arrived and we were shown to our table. We ordered some food; way too much. Perhaps if they were normal serving sizes like in Australia it would have been the right amount, but these were supersized.
I ordered the Thai Lettuce Wraps which you created yourself. You get a plate filled with satay chicken strips, carrots, bean sprouts, coconut curry noodles, and lettuce leaves along with three sauces (peanut, sweet red chili and Tamarind-cashew). Then you put whatever you wanted inside the lettuce leaves, rolled them up and they were ready to eat. They were fantastic. Marnee ordered a plate of simple nachos; when they came out, the serve was huge. And before we knew it we had enough food for about 10 people and Nick and Leah had ordered a dish to share as well.
After another drink, and stuffing ourselves silly, Marnee and I said goodbye to Nick and Leah as they were heading up to the top of the John Hancock building. Marnee and I jumped in a cab to head north to a place I’d visited last time called Kingston Mines. I thought being that it is Chicago’s oldest and largest late-night Blues Club, Marnee would quite enjoy it! We stayed here a while having drinks and enjoying the varying acts of performers before leaving and getting in a cab bound for a place called She-Nannigan's House of Beer. We got a drink here but it was very quiet. Well, it was a Tuesday night. It was a cute little place with a basketball ring on the side wall and fresh popcorn on each table (that you could refill at any time at the popcorn machine. We headed across the road to Bootleggers where we made friends with the girl at the bar who was very generous with her free-pour. We headed up the back of the bar to play some giant jenga for a bit then took up residence at the bar and made some more friends in Ken, a Chicago local, and also the owner of bootleggers. We stayed there for ages, drinking and chatting before they said they were closing up. We headed back across to She-Nannigan's where they said they’d meet us after they had locked up. We sat there for a while drinking when we were joined by the staff and owner from across the road. We then noticed the stripper pole behind the bar and, at this point had well and truly had enough to drink to give it a go. Besides, we were pretty much the only ones in the bar.
After this it was late but it was our last night in Chicago so headed down the road to a place called The Original Mothers.
We had more drinks here (surprise, surprise) and Marnee even tried her hand at some karaoke.
Eventually, the drinks and long day took their toll and it was home time so we hauled our drunken arses in a cab. What a funny night.

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