Blackpink…in your area! 🎵🎸

Blackpink…in the “Wind” City! 🎵🎸

Yep, that’s right. After living on the east coast of the US for nearly 25 years, and being less than a 2 hour plane ride from Chi-town, I finally visited Chicago this past weekend!

And that’s all thanks to a little known K-Pop group called BLACKPINK.

When BLACKPINK announced their Deadline World Tour earlier this year, I immediately checked out the proposed tour dates to see if there were going to be any shows near Central PA. The actual list of US tour stops was disappointingly small, with only three cities: Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. So the choice was pretty obvious: Chicago would be the location of my first in-person BLINK experience.

You’re probably wondering how this trip actually came to be… 🤔 Well here’s a little backstory 📗

Last month my travel companion visited me in my home city for a weekend. It was our first time getting together one-on-one and we had a really great time. From baseball games to concerts to mini golf, the weekend just flew by and we really enjoyed each other’s company. Driving home from the concert one night, I turned on BLACKPINK. He had never really listened to them, but vibed along the entire way home. While in the car, I had mentioned that they were starting up their world tour with a few stops in the US, one of which being Chicago. I had looked into the possibility of going, but none of my hometown friends were fans so I’d have to go alone if I wanted to see them. He threw out the idea of him coming along and making an extended weekend trip out of it. A few weeks later, we had flights and hotels booked, and concert tickets were sitting in my Apple Wallet, and the rest was history! 🤩

Day 1: Arrival / The Bean / Chicago Art Institute

The first day started pretty early for me…I woke up around 5:45am, packed a few last minute items, loaded into the car, and headed for the airport. My flight to Chicago was scheduled for 8:30 am EST, so I arrived at the airport around 7:00am. We took off from MDT right on time and made our way to ORD. We landed in Chicago right around 9:45am CST, where my travel partner in crime was already waiting at my gate (his flight landed 30 mins earlier).

Upon deplaning, I met up with my weekend companion and we headed to the exit to grab our Lyft that would take us into the city. It was about a 45 minute drive to get from ORD to our hotel, which was in downtown Chicago.

After a bit of pre-trip research, we decided to stay at the Sonder Wabash hotel. This was a great cost-effective option as we could share one suite, where we each had our own bedroom and bathroom. It also turned out this particular hotel was in the most centralized location for all of the activities we decided to do, and also had an abundance of restaurants in the immediate vicinity.

Once we arrived at the hotel, we had to stow our bags since check-in time wasn’t until 4pm and we arrived just after 11am. After stowing our belongings, we realized it was lunchtime. After a bit of Googling, we came across a place called Chicago Waffles, which was right around the corner from the hotel. I decided to order the Liege Waffle, which ended up being super tasty and just enough food for lunch/brunch.

After lunch we did a bit of exploring down Michigan Ave. After a bit of walking we landed at Millennium Park, so of course we had to check out the famous “Bean” landmark. Not sure what I was expecting, but it was still pretty cool to see it in person.

After a short people-watching break at the Bean, we headed further down Michigan Ave, towards the Chicago Art Institute. One thing to mention is that while at lunch, we looked into some excursions / activities to do and ended up purchasing two 5x City Passes, which gave us access to five of Chicago’s most popular activities, including the Aquarium, Planetarium, and of course the Chicago Art Institute.

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the museum, seeing some really cool artwork and exhibits. Some highlights for me were:

• Stained glass window
• Renior painting
• Knight jousting exhibit

After the museum, it was nearly dinner time, so we walked back towards the hotel and started looking for a place to eat. Earlier in the day, we passed by a Japanese restaurant on the way to Chicago Waffles (literally next door), so we decided to check it out. The place was called Mikami Izakaya / Ramen. It was a really nice little Japanese restaurant. I ended up ordering the Miso glazed salmon, which was delicious! 🤤 One highlight from dinner was the fact that the restaurant was playing BLACKPINK music all evening, so we got a little pre-concert show during our meal.

Upon finishing up dinner, we headed back to the hotel. After doing all of the nighttime routines, we played a few rounds of Hot Pot, before calling it a night. Tomorrow was going to be the main event of the weekend: BLACKPINK! 🎶

Day 2: Field Museum / BLACKPINK

Day 2 kicked off with us heading out and exploring the neighborhood for some breakfast. We didn’t have an exact place in mind, so we just bumbled around. This was fine, untll we somehow ended up on a deserted service road near the metro tracks. After walking over a mile, we realized there was no pedestrian exit for the road… 😲 so we turned around and walked back towards civilization (upon returning to the road entrance we noticed a gate that was left open, so we clearly weren’t supposed to be on that road 😆).

After a bit more walking we stumbled upon the Little Brunch Cafe, a cute little breakfast spot not too far from the “adventure” road. I ordered the strawberry pancakes with eggs. Those pancakes could’ve easily fed two people, with some to spare.

After breakfast, we headed for the Museum Campus, as today’s activity was checking out the Field Museum, which was another CityPass attraction. I really enjoyed walking around the Museum Campus. It was filled with beautiful pathways and lovely gardens.

The Field Museum is a natural history museum in Chicago, and features 100s of exhibits. As a bit of a natural history nerd, I was really looking forward to seeing dinosaurs, Ancient civilizations, and more, and I must say the Field DID NOT disappoint!

Highlights from the Field included:

• Sue the T-Rex
• Walking through an Egyption tomb
• Totems!
• Gem room

After spending the majority of the late morning/afternoon at the Field, it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready for the concert.

But before the show, we had to get some dinner. On the walk back to the hotel we passed by a Thai spot called Siam Thai Eatery. From the outside, it seemed like a pretty low-key place. However, when we walked in, it was a totally different story! The placed was small but packed so we were placed on the waitlist and had to wait about 30 minutes to be seated. However, I can tell you the wait was 100% worth it!

For the concert I opted to dress for function over form, but still think I achieved a cute look: a black BLACKPINK tee and striped linen capris, with white sneakers. And of course the signature BP light stick HAD to come along too!

This was the first time I had traveled to see a concert. Up until now, I had only attended concerts in the Hershey, PA area, where the majority of the artists I like made tour stops anyway.

We opted to walk over to Solider Field for the concert. This proved to be a very good call, as traffic all around the Museum Campus was INSANE for the show. Upon making it through security and entering the stadium, we made our way up a few levels to our seats in section 433.

The view from our seats was spectacular! We weren’t too close or too far from the action. We got a good look at the stage and the crowd below us. As a petite woman, it’s usually hit or miss as to whether I’m going to have a good concert viewing experience depending on who is seated in front of me. I am happy to say the rows were set up in such a way that my view wasn’t blocked by anyone in front of us 🎉

The pre-show experience was unlike anything I’ve seen before. Normally, a performer will have one or more opening acts that go on before them to entertain the crowd until the big main act. However, in BLACKPINK’s case, there was no actual opening act. Instead, they played their own music videos leading up to the start of the show. This was a really neat experience, and definitely got the crowd hyped up for the actual concert.

As we got closer and closer to showtime, you could feel the anticipation and excitement grow in the stadium. The show kicked off just a few minutes after 8:00pm and the entire stadium erupted with cheers and screams. I was absolutely HYPED!

The girls performed their butts off for over two hours, splitting time between group numbers and solo performances. The show itself was split into five acts, each with a different theme and songs that aligned with said theme. It’s hard for me to choose favorites, but a few standouts for me were: Kill this Love, Shut Down, Like JENNIE, and the JUMP encore.

At the conclusion of the show, we made our way out of the stadium and meandered around the crowds to finally exit the Museum Campus. It was at this point that I was really happy that we walked to the show. Once we got out of the crowds, it was a nice and calm walk back to the Sonder. Once back, we did night time routines, and played a few more rounds of Hot Pot before heading off to bed.

Day 3: Japanese Pancakes / Planetarium / Navy Pier

After all of yesterday’s excitement, and given there was rain the forecast for today, we decided to keep things pretty low key for the day. We had a new soft options on the consideration block: Willis Tower, Chinatown, Navy Pier.

By the time we were ready to get moving, it was brunch time. We didn’t really have anything in mind for food, so we walked up Wabash St. After about 20 minutes we came across a little cafe that sold Japanese souffle pancakes called Hanabusa Cafe. The food aroma and product photos drew us in. Upon arriving there was a “short” line outside so we joined the line. Little did we know we’d end up standing in this line for over 45 minutes. My feet were definitely not happy with the choice to stand in line. When we finally made inside the restaurant, we ordered our food. I ordered the original pancakes and a passion fruit boba tea. Upon receiving our table number, were informed it would another 40 minute wait for food. It was at this point that I started questioning every decision I’ve ever made in life… 😅

After the 40 minutes were up, our food finally arrived at our table. However, there was a slight problem with mine. I had ordered mine sans dairy as I’m lactose intolerant. But when the plates arrived at the table, mine was covered in whipped cream. So unfortunately I had to send it back, which meant they had to make a new batch of pancakes which took an additional 10 minutes… 😢

Once my food finally came to the table, it was time to eat! The pancakes were as soft as a cloud and basically melted in your mouth. They weren’t too sweet but still had just enough flavor. After all we went through to get them, we both agreed they were well worth the wait! So if you’ve got nothing but time on a weekend, I’d highly suggest checking out Hanabusa Cafe.

Travel partner’s tl;dr; takes:

Pros: Amazing clouds
Cons: Feet hurt

— YV

About halfway through our meal it started raining. That pretty much solidified the rest of our day: outdoor activities were a no go, at least for the remainder of the afternoon. It looked like things would calm down by the evening, so we still had options.

After a bit of internet sleuthing, we decided to check out the Alter Planetarium, which was yet another activity on the CityPass. We wrapped up our brunch and grabbed a Lyft back over to…you guess it…the Museum Campus. We arrived at the Planetarium and checked in with our CityPasses. We found out our admissions came with tickets to two shows. We arrived a bit late in the day, so there were only 3 open shows left for the day. We chose “Nayah and the Multiverse” and “Chicago Skywatch Live.”

While waiting for the shows, we explored the Planetarium. They had some really neat exhibits while we were there. Some highlights for me were:

• US Space Program history
• Telescopes
• The moon

Once it was time for the shows, we made our way to the dome. The first show wasn’t very interesting to me, it felt more geared towards small children. I struggled through most of it due to the fact that the projections were on the ceiling of the dome, and I am known to get motion sickness in situations like that. So I admittedly had my eyes closed for most of the show.

The second show was much more my speed. It was very interactive and had some interesting facts that were shared throughout. I have been in an astronomy kick this year, so learning how to spot various constellations and planets in the night sky was very informative.

After the 2nd show, unbeknownst to us, the museum was preparing to close for the day. So after being shuttled outside, we walked around the waterfront, taking in some nice Chicago skyline views.

Once we were finished on the waterfront, we were both getting hungry. While planning the trip to Chicago, I decided it was finally time for me to try real sushi. So we sought out a nice sushi place. After walking a couple miles, and of course working up more of an appetite, we finally arrived at Ryo Sushi. Looking at the menu, I was bit overwhelmed by what to try as my first pieces of sushi. After asking the waitress, I decided on a salmon belly sashimi and a yellowfin tuna sashimi. I also ordered a teriyaki chicken just in case the sashimi wasn’t for me.

The food arrived at the table and the presentation was amazing! They used dry ice to make the plating “smoke.” So cool!

The moment came to try the sushi. I started with the salmon. It was delicious! Melted in my mouth like butter. I was feeling good at this point…maybe I am a sushi girl!? I then tried the yellowfin. That one wasn’t for me, it had some extra layer of flavor that didn’t sit right with me…but a 50% success rate was great for me considering I didn’t know what to expect going into the meal. Not to be forgotten, the teriyaki chicken was also very good, super juicy meat and the sauce had really good flavor.

After lunch, since the rain had passed us by, we decided to walk through Millennium Park and head over to check out the Navy Pier. On the way over there, we ran into a city mini golf course. We have a tradition of playing mini golf, so it was a no-brainer that we needed to try this one.

The course was really fun. The holes were raised up off the ground, each in a different theme related to Chicago. There were also a few holes with special challenges, like: putting with your non-dominant hand and putting backwards. After about an hour and several back-and-forth score changes, I came out victorious! 💪🏽

Once we were finished golfing, we continued our trek to the Navy Pier. The walk was definitely longer than I expected it to be, but the water views and good conversation made the time pass quickly.

The Navy Pier was quite the hot spot that night! There were people EVERYWHERE! We walked around for the bit, just taking in the sights. I knew I wanted to ride the Centennial Wheel, so we headed over there. Luckily there wasn’t much of a line, so we were able to board fairly quickly.

I’ve been on several Ferris wheels over the years, with the most notable being the SkyView in Atlanta. There’s something special about being sent up in the air above the hustle and bustle and getting to enjoy the views in peace. This is one attraction I will seek out in any city I visit.

Once we completed our three revolutions on the Ferris Wheel, it was time to find a spot to relax and wait for the fireworks. After some research, we found out the show would start around 10pm, so we had a decent amount of time to kill. Luckily there was a set of stairs that doubled as seating just below the wheel, so we took up camp there for the duration of our wait. That evening there happened to be some live music acts, so we enjoyed various musical stylings along the water. We couldn’t ask for a better night to be outside, that’s for sure!

The fireworks did indeed start promptly at 10pm. They were pretty spectacular, but then again I’m a sucker for summer nights and fireworks…it’s one of the best ways to spend a summer night.

After the fireworks show, it was literally a mass exodus to get out of the Navy Pier. Luckily we had walked, so there was no need to compete with Lyft/Uber to get out of there. We high tailed it back towards the marina, where we were able to hail a Lyft to get us back to the Sonder.

By the time we arrived back at the hotel, it was nearly 11pm and we were both pretty hungry. Unfortunately, we weren’t in NYC so no food places nearby were still open (although one place claimed to be open online, but had just closed when we got there…). So in the end, we went back to the hotel and munched on a few snacks I had brought while watching some BLACKPINK YouTube videos until it was time for bed.

Day 4: Shedd Aquarium / Departure

Today was our last day in Chicago, unfortunately…luckily our flights weren’t until later in the afternoon/evening, so we essentially had a mostly open day to do some last minute exploring. Since it was our last day and we needed to check out of the hotel, we opted for a chill morning in, so we ordered breakfast from Yolk and had it delivered to the Sonder.

After breakfast, it was time to do a final sweep of the suite and check out of the hotel. Just like we did when we checked in, we stashed our luggage in the hotel’s storage lockers so we could freely explore the city without lugging around extra bags and pounds.

We still had a few items on our CityPasses to redeem, so we headed over to the Museum Campus one last time to check out the Shedd Aquarium. We strategically left this for last, as we knew it would be a good way to spend the last morning/afternoon that was also close by.

We spent the majority of the afternoon at the Shedd, walking around and enjoying all there was to see.

Once we were done exploring the aquarium, we were both pretty hungry so stopped by the cafeteria to grab a quick bite to eat. By the time we were done eating, it was time to start thinking about heading to the airport. We took our final walk out of the Museum Campus and headed back to the Sonder to retrieve our bags. We had scheduled a Lyft to pick us up at 4:30pm for the airport. The schedule worked out perfectly in that our driver was waiting for us just as we came out with our bags.

It was now time to make the unfortunate journey back to ORD to check in for our flights. We arrived at the airport in plenty of time for our flights, with my flight leaving a bit later than his. So I decided to hang out at his gate until it was time for him to board. Once his boarding began, we said our goodbyes until next time, and I journeyed over to my gate.

I had about an hour wait until my flight boarded. In that timeframe, my gate was switched 3 times, causing me to walk the B and C terminals multiple times in such a short time span. Needless to say, I really got my steps in that day. Luckily the connector between the two terminals was very pretty, so it made it slightly more bearable.

After switching terminals a few times, my gate had finally settled on B terminal. However, my evening of excitement didn’t end there. My flight to Harrisburg ended up getting delayed due to the flight coming into Chicago being delayed. While waiting out the delays, my travel partner had since arrived back home in Traverse City, which was quite a comical outcome of events.

After about an hour of waiting, my flight finally departed around 9pm CT and arrived at my home airport around 11:15pm ET, about 30 minutes later than initially expected. I managed to make it home just before midnight.

Overall, this was a very fun trip and I’m sure will lead to more trips in the future. For anyone considering visiting Chicago, I would highly recommend it as it’s full of rich history and culture. I will definitely be visiting again to check out the places we missed on this short trip.