Subway, China Town and the Bean

We got checked into our hotel and were pretty excited to have a corner room with a view overlooking the lake.  We made some plans for where we wanted to eat dinner and then decided to ride the subway to China town.  We thought it would be fun to ride the subway train.  We stopped and got some hot chocolate in the lobby before heading back out into the cold.  We luckily only had to walk a few blocks to the subway station.  We were able to get off close to China town and found a restaurant to eat dinner.  We decided to eat at a hole in the wall, they usually ended up being some of the best.  We weren't sure how much English any of the workers there spoke, but the food was really good.  We especially liked the orange chicken.  We ordered a few entrees, and all shared them.  After dinner we decided to walk on the street a little bit and browse a few of the gift shops there.  We thought if the kids found a cheap souvenir, we would get them something, but we didn't have any luck.  We decided to get back on the subway and get off close to the bean.  We had wanted to see the bean and talked about going in the morning but figured with our subway tickets we should go before going back to the hotel.  It was cool to see the bean in the dark.  The only other time we had seen it was in the daytime.  The lights and reflections were pretty.  As we were snapping some photos a man came up to us and asked if he could take some photos for us.  He told us he was a good photographer and had won some contests before.  He said his name was "goldfinger" and he proceeded to have us pose in a few different ways.  I knew they were going to be so cheesy and couldn't help but laugh.  He was so nice and after he took them asked us for a small donation for taking the pictures.  We gave him a few dollars and chalked it up to a good experience with our photographer "goldfinger".  The pictures weren't all bad, just not our style and they certainly made for a good laugh.  We rode the subway back to the hotel and were excited to get ready for bed.  JJ and the older kids had to walk back to the car for some blankets and snacks.  We decided that was a downfall about being in the city.  Being so far from the car and it being such an event to get things from it.  After JJ got back and we were brushing teeth Nolan realized his toothbrush was in the car, JJ said he wasn't going back.  We had a fun busy day touring Chicago.  I am glad we made the decision to go down there.  I know the kids will have fun memories of our little change of scenery during spring break.  We wish it would have been warmer but that okay.