Day 3: Toledo to Chicago

---

Miles today: 244

We got a quick start this morning and were in Chicago before noon. We parked at the hotel and walked to our food tour- a good mile and a half in thirty minutes! I was very proud to see my mom keep up with me through the city. We made it to the Ashekenaz Deli just in time to start the one and a half mile walking tour (something we should have thought of before walking to the tour!)

At the Deli, we tried a Reuben made with pastrami, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and their Russian dressing which was made with mayonnaise, ketchup, relish, and beets on marble bread. (My mother remembers all the details, I had to ask her!) We enjoyed our hearty start and walked across the street to learn about the four different types of tea made from two different types of leaves.

Our next stop was at the Spice House where we looked at the difference between different peppercorns (all the same thing- just picked and processed in different ways) and we looked at cinnamon bark as well. Two buildings down, we stopped at Old Town Oil where we tasted different oils and vinegarettes. I know it sounds strange but the flavors and combinations were amazing! My mom's favorite was a mixture of blood orange olive oil and tangerine balsamic vinegar.

It was time for dessert, so we went to the Fudge Pot where we tried amazing butter toffee and dark chocolate. The grandfather of one the workers helped create the Three Musketeers bar. We had more dessert at Delightful Pastries were we tried pirogis and kashlike(?).

Of course, you can't go to Chicago without having pizza, so we went to Bacino's and tried their spinach stuffed crust pizza which was not at all the type of stuffed crust pizza that Pizza Hut serves. Here the toppings were almost an inch thick and were stuffed between two thin crusts that covered the entire pizza. The sauce was final topping.

After that, we did manage to use public transportation before heading to the planetarium to take some beautiful sunset photos of the skyline. We walked back through Millennium Park to our hotel, the absolutely impressive Palmer House Hilton. All in all we had a wonderful day together with lots of walking- over five miles total! We kept telling ourselves it was good to wear ourselves out before spending all of the next day in the car.

Total miles logged: 1183

---

Photos

Playgirl Mansion!
This is me in front of the original Playgirl Mansion.

Oz Park
Standing by the Tin Man towards the end of our tour.

The Palmer House
This is the ceiling in the lobby. The rest of the hotel is this grand as well.

Comments

[Maggie]

FUN!
This all looks like such fun! I am jealous not to be doing it with you! :-) The pictures are lovely and so are the posts. I feel like I get a real sense of your travels.

[jackie]

thanks for sharing your adventure
The pics are awesome - so glad you are doing these blogs - thanks again-Jackie