What do you think of when you hear “Chicago”?
Windy City…
Chicago Cubs…
Chicago Fire…
Lakeshore…
Home.
Even as a native Chicagoan, I still get goosebumps when I turn onto Lakeshore Drive and see the skyline and the lake. Â Chicago is such a beautiful city. Â We don’t have the weather of Los Angeles or the size of New York, but actually it is those things that make it special. Â Our changing seasons provide beautiful vistas with autumn leaves, summer blue skies, ice skating at Millenium Park or stripes of tulips down the center of Michigan Avenue. Â And the size of Chicago makes it big enough for cultural events, international variety, top restaurants but small enough to be friendly.
Here are my top five favorite places in Chicago to make memories with your family! Â They are things to look back on as priceless moments.
Millenium Park
Millenium Park opened in 2004.  I was working on Michigan Avenue directly across the street from the park and had the perfect view to watch construction and then the beautiful opening.  A star attraction of the park is “The Bean” which we were doubtful about when we heard the description but fell in love with when we saw the finished work of art.  It is quite heavy and required special construction to support the weight.  It was assembled on-site and the long process wasn’t completed on schedule when crews ran into numerous problems.  The cost finished at four times original estimates.  But all that is forgotten when visitors marvel at the reflections of our beautiful city in the highly polished unique work of art. Millenium Park is also home to trees, pavilions, an ice skating rink, a water feature with “spitting fountains”, and the centerpiece bandshell designed by Frank Gehry.  It has fixed seats for 4,000 and lawn seating for an additional 7,000 people.
Michigan Avenue
The shopping mecca of Chicago, Michigan Avenue has every must-see store along what is called “The Magnificent Mile”. Â Visitors and Chicagoans flock there during the holiday season and all year-round. Â The decorations are always interesting and unique ranging from specially decorated cows to golf balls. Â My daughter loved this one that featured Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicking over the lantern that started the great Chicago fire.
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is the oldest National League ball park. Â It is known for ivy-covered walls, a hand operated scoreboard, and the much beloved Chicago Cubs. Â “Mr. Cub” is the cherished Ernie Banks, and as part of a MasterCard priceless moments event I had the honor to meet him! Â You can read more about it in my old post but suffice it to say it will be a memory that I will treasure for the rest of my life. Â My mom used to take me to Cubs games in the summers of my childhood and I credit my learning score keeping during those games to leading me to become an accountant.
Macy’s, formerly Marshall Field’s
Like many Chicagoans, my parents would take me every Christmas to shop at Marshall Field’s now Macy’s State Street Store. Â The windows are always decorated with incredible holiday themes and a delight for adults and children. Â Actually my mom remembers her mom taking her there when she was a child. Â After shopping and seeing the beautifully decorated store, we have lunch under the “Great Tree” in The Walnut Room. Â In years past, the tree was decorated by employees whose sole job was to work on handmade ornaments throughout the year. Â And speaking of lunch…
Chicago Restaurants and Markets
Chicago is well-known for having amazing food.  This week I attended the opening of a new and unique location called Eataly. Oscar Farinetti is the founder and creator of Eataly which has locations around the world.  Also partners in Eataly are chefs Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich, and Lidia Matticchio Bastianich as well as Adam and Alex Saper.  I had the privilege to chat with the father of Adam and Alex at the grand opening event.  He was a charming man who was so incredibly proud of his sons.  It was a priceless moment to see the joy on his face as he watched his sons cut the ribbon and toast the grand opening of Eataly Chicago.  Eataly is a food market with groceries, baked goods, cheeses and more.  It also houses restaurants with the Eataly signature combination of thoughtful and memorable food, intelligent wine lists, and an emphasis on living life to its absolute fullest.
The pizza ovens at Eataly are so massive that they had to shut down Chicago streets to deliver them.  Mario Batali diplomatically handled the NY-Chicago pizza rivalry when he said, “We know Jon Stewart and Chicago have been in the news lately regarding your pizza.  But rest assured that what we are doing is neither Chicago-style nor New York-style; it’s Napoli-style.”  And I’ll add the crust was a perfect combination of crisp and bready, delicious!
Welcome to Chicago, Eataly!  We’re happy to have you hear and I’m adding you to my list of what I love about Chicago!  I’m hoping the relationship MasterCard has with Eataly will help enable even more priceless experiences in Chicago.
Have you been to an event and noticed that some people get to be “inside the ropes†while the public is held back behind barriers? Why are they allowed inside and what makes them special?  Offers from MasterCard Priceless allow unprecedented access to events and celebrities.  Yup, priceless!
There are many different sports, shopping, music, and food events open only to MasterCard holders in the Priceless Cities experiences.  Be sure to take a look at the website for a city near you and sign up for emails so you won’t miss the one that ‘s perfect for you.  Because they are usually private, small events, many of them sell out quickly, so don’t hesitate!
This is a screenshot from Priceless Chicago website:
Dining, Shopping, Sports, Travel & About Town, Music & Entertainment, and Arts & Culture are the categories of MasterCard Priceless Opportunities.  I’m excited about all of them!
Where can you create special memories in Chicago? Â
Check out the MasterCard Priceless Opportunities…
…you may see something you’ve only dreamed of doing!
Learn more on the website:
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#LoveThisCity #MC #Priceless
Cool! What a great experience! I would have loved to have seen Mario! =) #client
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