Chicago Loop InstaGreeter Tour, Skyline at the Museum Campus, Wicker Park, Kurah Mediterranean, and Au Chavel | Chicago, IL

We began our last day in Chicago by going on the Chicago Loop InstaGreeter Tour. The Chicago Greeter program is fantastic! You can register online at least ten days before your trip and a greeter will give you a free 2-4 hour customized tour of the city (the guides won't even accept tips when offered). If you forget to register (like we did), the program also has InstaGreeter tours that explore a specific part of the city and take place at scheduled times during the week.

Barbara was our guide and the tour was terrific!! Our tour left from the Cultural Center and lasted approximately 90 minutes. Barbara was so sweet and knowledgable about the city. Plus the tour was free, our guide was a native Chicagoan, we only had eight people on our tour, we were able to go inside incredible buildings and view their Tiffany mosaics, and we saw the majority of Chicago's renowned public art.

I was a little hesitant of the Greeter program because it was free. However, I was pleasantly surprised and our tour was much better than other tours I have paid for at other destinations. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND going on either a Greeter or InstaGreeter tour when in Chicago. 

Marc Chagall, The Four Seasons

Alexander Calder, Flamingo

Pablo Picasso, Untitled

Cool reliefs on the outside of the Marquette Building

AMAZING Tiffany mosaics inside the Marquette Building

After our tour, we went back to the Cultural Center and explored the room with the amazing glass dome and Tiffany mosaics around the room...it was incredible!

After exploring the Cultural Center, we had to stop by Garrett's and get some popcorn to take home :)  

The Garrett Mix of cheese and caramel corn is AMAZING!!!

Next, we had lunch at Kurah Mediterranean. They cook their pita bread in a wood fire oven and it was so tasty! 

After lunch we went to the museum campus near the Adler Planetarium and took photos of the skyline (along with three wedding parties). 

Then we visited Wicker Park. Honestly, I was a little disappointed by Wicker Park. Based on my research, I was expecting lots of cute local shops to explore. Instead, we discovered that the vast majority of the area was comprised of restaurants and chain stores. The few local stores that we found were cute but expensive. However, we found a delightful park and a neighborhood of cool historic houses to explore. 

We had dinner at Au Chavel. The restaurant is super tiny and you can watch the kitchen staff cooking behind the bar top. The food was delicious, the portions were generous, and the fries were perfection. M and I shared an order of fries with mornay sauce, garlic aioli, and a fried egg and I had the single cheese burger with bacon and a fried egg. We could have easily shared a burger as well. 

Front row seat to watch the kitchen staff in action

The only negative side to Au Chavel was the wait. We put in our names at 6:14pm and waited 2 1/2 hours to be seated. Because the restaurant is so tiny, there isn't a place to wait inside so M and I walked around the neighborhood. The food was good, but I don't think anything is worth a 2 1/2 hour wait. I would recommend either going for lunch or going for an early dinner to miss the crowds. 

The next morning we got up at 5am, took an Uber to Midway airport, and left on our 8:45am direct flight to OKC. Chicago is rich in world-renown museums, excellent restaurants, amazing architecture, and fun city tours. If you are a foodie, art nerd, history buff, or architecture enthusiast put visiting Chicago on your bucket list :) .