UPDATE – You can also check the Images of Chicago portion of my website, where I’ve organized some of my Chicago photos by book. I’ll be adding additional photos soon!
There’s one more deadline behind me and so, as promised, here’s a run-through of some of our images from our recent Chicago trip, as well as some of our favorite activities.
1. One of my favorite buildings–Lake Pointe Towers near Navy Pier
2. The Wrigley Building (just post-July 4th)
3. One of the lions that guards the Art Institute of Chicago. Isn’t he gorgeous?
4. The end of Navy Pier at sunset
5. The Navy Pier Ferris Wheel (just after my first Ferris Wheel ride.)
Although I did a little day-jobbing while I was there, this was officially a location-scouting trip–a chance to check out potential locations for scenes in the Chicagoland Vampires and Dark Elite books. My normal approach is to skip the tourist-type stuff and head directly into the neighborhoods. This time, we did things a little differently, and I realized that there’s a reason tourists flock to Navy Pier, to the architectural tours, to Millennium Park and Lou Mitchell’s. If you’re planning a trip to Chicago, here are some spots I’d recommend:
1. Water Taxi: Heading out? Try a water taxi from a stand on the Chicago River to Navy Pier.
2. Navy Pier at Sunset: Give yourself a few hours to walk the pier in the cool of a summer evening, have an Italian ice, ride the Ferris Wheel, and snap photos of the lights, the colors, the tourists and, of course, the Lake. You can also make a last minute dive onto one of the many water tours that depart from the pier.
3. Lou Mitchell’s for breakfast: I’m sure I’m not the first to suggest it, but Lou Mitchell’s was fabulous. They offer a basket of freshly-made donut holes at the door (so that you can grab one while you wait for your breakfast), and the food is fast, filling, well-priced and delicious. We had omelets before hitting the road, and it was well worth the time.
4. Take to the water: Chicago has lots of options for boat tours–architectural tours of the Chicago River, sunset tours of Lake Michigan, thrill-ride tours on the Lake, and Lake tours on schooners in which you get to help raise and lower the sails. We had great luck with an architectural tour and a sunset tour from Shoreline Sightseeing. If there’s a better way to experience the city than being on the water, I’m not sure what it is…
5. Pick a neighborhood: Whether it’s Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village, Lincoln Park or Wrigleyville, pick a neighborhood and dive in. There are tons of online resources that provide maps of great, local to-do’s, including restaurants and retail options. This trip, we headed back into Wicker Park (home of Mallory and, at least for a time [hint, hint], Merit). We spent some time surveying the sweet paper wares at Paper Dolls, then had homemade pizza at Crust before cruising up to Ukrainian Village to check out the gorgeous church architecture.
Enjoy, and feel free to share your Chicago favorites in the comments!
Looks like you had fun. I love the fact that the places in your books correlate with real life.
Thanks, Athena. Chicago has so much to offer (can you tell I'm a fan, lol?), it's an easy place to scout.
~ Chloe
I've lived in Chicago for quite some years, just recently moved out to a south suburb.
If you're ever downtown, check out Pizano's. Their deep dish is to die for. There's one on Madison I think.
Vivian: Someone else recommended Pizano's to us, as well! We'll definitely add that to the list of things to do! Thanks.