Millennial-ing in Millennium Park

Can you even say you've been to Chicago without a visit to the bean?! The famous, shiny statue has been a tourist destination since it's creation and the amount of visitors it attracts each year continues to multiply. And I mean, how could it not with the growing number of clever instagram hastags #beantheredonethat.

We decided to visit Millennium park on a brisk day in April after a delicious lunch at the famous, Portillos. We knew we also couldn't leave the windy city without experiencing an authentic Chicago dog, complete with all the fixins', piled high on a steaming dog. I ordered a classic and Rob ordered a chili dog, both which ended up being a lot more messy than anticipated (& we were expecting a mess to begin with!) Despite the several napkin runs, we thoroughly enjoyed them alongside crinkle french fries and a thick vanilla shake. Once we were all filled up on Chi town staples and had our fair share of eccentric people watching, we decided it was time to start walking towards downtown to take in the sights and smells of the city.

Our route led us from the Chicago Omni hotel down to the Chicago Riverwalk where we had to stop for photos. It was really quite cool seeing this in real life after seeing it on shows like Shameless. To be honest, most of my Chicago references are from Shameless which pretty much summed up my knowledge of Chicago before this trip.

I loved seeing the boats pass underneath while cars are hustling and bustling across in a rush. I was also able to snap one of my favorite photos of the trip here in front of the gaudy trump hotel #fuckdonaldtrump I would hate having to drive or walk to and from work everyday with that horrible name glaring down on me. Ugh. I need to chill out for a second, this is already starting to get me a little heated lol.

Finally, we came across the park which was tucked away in a giant courtyard surrounded by gleaming buildings in the heart of Chicago. Surprisingly, the bean wasn't the first giant shiny statue we saw in the park. Instead, we were humbled by the sight of an intricate silver satellite-looking statue that sat upon a series of steps. It was really cool to see statues throughout the park when I had originally though the bean was all there was to see here. Why doesn't anyone post any Instagram photos of all these other cool statues? Another really cool thing to see was the skating rink that played a crucial role in a Shamless scene involving Frank and Lip. It's just crazy to think about the fact that they were here, in this exact place, in a different moment of time.

Finally, we feast our eyes on THE BEAN. The magical bean. It was indeed the most shiny bean I ever did see. This sculptural masterpiece reflected every which way, highlighting the skyscrapers around us and shining its light in all directions. I knew it was going to be big, but there was actually a point where I lost Rob trying to do a lap around it. I guess it didn't help that there were tourists all over the freakin place.

After the initial awe state we found ourselves in from the sheer sublimity of the thing, we got started doing what millennials do best: documenting every second. We had to have taken at least 50 photos from 50 different angles and 100 selfies. It was really cool to see how much the cityscape evolved as we moved from place to place. Everywhere you stand you get a new, slightly skewed perspective of the city around you. I think a lot of people were sleeping on the inside part of the bean, which is where I thought we got some of the coolest photos.

This is definitely a must-do activity if you're taking a trip to Chi town, just be prepared for a big crowd!