Chicago - Day 3

Today was a little bit of a lower key day, but we still packed a lot in.  We started off by finding Chinatown.  It really did feel like a little bit of China.  The shops reminded us of the souvenir shops in Guangzhou.  We went in some fishy smelling grocery stores, some sweet smelling bakeries, and enjoyed just poking around.  Not that the kids noticed, but Elijah and Ami looked like everyone else on the streets while the rest of us stuck out.  I was able to pick up a couple of outfits for Ami and Elijah to wear for Chinese New Year and the kids found some other souvenirs to take home.  I just wish the prices were as cheap as in Guangzhou!

We even found a nostalgic drink from Japan.  Ramune, the real kind in the glass bottle with the marble!

After a quick picnic lunch in the van, we headed to Michigan Avenue.  I guess a trip to Chicago isn't quite complete without doing a little bit of shopping along the Magnificent Mile, so we tromped up and down just a few blocks.  First on the list of places to hit was the original American Girl Store.

Some were more interested that others:

The boys were very excited to find a Lego store right next to the AG store!

Michaela has determined that we need to take a girls only trip to Chicago.  Somehow fashion shopping with five younger disinterested siblings in tow just doesn't cut it.

We stopped at the Apple store to check out the new iPad3 play a bit.  :)

Disney store: 

After our hard day of shopping we headed "home" to wait for Chris.  Then we all went out to Chicago's famous Gino's East pizza.  We tried both the traditional Chicago deep-dish pizza and some thin crust. 

Oh yummy goodness....but our eyes were bigger than our stomachs.  That deep dish pizza seems to weigh a couple of pounds per slice and fill you quickly!