Did you know, that apparently Chicago is called the “windy city” not because of the weather-wind, but because of politicians who blow a lot of “hot air” with their words?

But I’m here to say, that although that might be true, it was DEFINITELY windy while we were touring around.

We stayed with our friends Jenni and Andres who showed us all the awesome sites downtown, including the famed bean.

Then we saw these crazy-cool fountains that turn into faces which blink and stare, and then eventually water squirts out from their mouths as they “spit” at each other.  Very fun!

We also indulged in some tasty, tasty food.  We started off with some Chipotle for lunch (which we’d never experienced):

And we enjoyed the Chicago popcorn mix at Garrett’s:

It’s a deliciously greasy combination of caramel and cheese popcorn.

But don’t worry, we washed it down with some tea from Argo Tea.  I chose a loose leaf tea called Carolina Honey, which is a “black tea blended with bits of lemon and notes of honey.”

Another night some other friends, Nate and Danielle, came over to Jenni and Andres’ place and we enjoyed the famous deep-dish Chicago pizza:

If it looks like we ate a ton of food in our first few days, then you’d be right.  But it was fantastic.  It seems appropriate on vacation, right?

It doesn’t stop there – we ate a whole lot more, and we bought some yummy treats from stores that we just don’t have in Canada.  But I’ll save that for another post!  Plus, I’ve got some updates from my actual birthday, and this past weekend where we spoke at a youth conference in South Bend, Indiana.

Have you ever been to Chicago?  If so, what was your favourite thing to see or eat?