As the pandemic was just beginning outside of the USA, we embarked on a trip to Panama. We seriously didn’t think the pandemic would amount to much, and didn’t think twice about traveling out of the country during the last week of February in 2020. We were giggling at the vendors selling face masks in the airport on our way home, but we had no idea how much our lives would change in the next two weeks. It was our…
We decided to pop into MUZA, right around the corner from our hotel in Valletta, Malta. It is basically the only art museum of its kind in the area, and I usually find that these smaller museums always hold some nice surprises; and surprise us, it did! MUZA is housed in the Auberge d’Italie, the former home of the Italian Knights of the Order of St. John, so the building itself is very cool. There is not much of a…
For our last night in Spain, we went to a restaurant that was recommended by our Hotel Concierge – Can Cisa/Bar Brutal. It seemed super hip and very wine-centric, which was something that I was especially looking forward to. When we arrived, we were seated towards the front of the space, although the a/c was not working there which made it a bit stuffy. Because of that, though, our water for the night was free, which is something that…
This is the trip that literally saved my mental wellbeing. When the pandemic began in America in March of 2020, all travel was halted. Our trip to Paris in the summer was cancelled, and there was no hope of rebooking it any time soon. For someone who needs travel to keep their head space in check while living a mostly ordinary life with a stressful day job, the toll of not being able to plan a trip for so long…
One of our stand out dinners in Barcelona, Spain was at Martinez Restaurant. I chose this place because of the high recommendations from several sources regarding their paella. It also would be the only time we could get to the high hill on the southern end of town, Montjuic. We took a cab here as it was much too far to walk, and we were dropped off right next to the restaurant. We were a bit early, so we took…
My two local cousins and I all have birthdays in July and August, so every year, we usually book a nice summer outing to celebrate each other and enjoy a nice evening out. This year, we chose to check out a relatively new restaurant in the West Loop neighborhood called ROOH which calls itself, “Progressive Indian Cuisine in a Vibrant Atmosphere;” and vibrant, it is! Every corner of this place is seriously insta-worthy and I took a TON of photos!…
As we were walking around Madrid, we noticed that there were quite a few Argentinian steakhouse restaurants in the area near where we were staying in the literary quarter. We figured this would be a nice change of pace from all of the tapas we were eating, and who could resist the aroma of juicy steaks emanating from these restaurants? As we walked by several of these places, their grills were right in the window, inviting us to come and…
We took a weeklong trip to Spain from June 10-18 with our two youngest kids, aged 10 and 12. This was their first time in Europe, so I was really motivated to show them some cool stuff. Madrid was the easy jumping off point, due to so many flights going there directly from O’Hare Airport, so that’s where we began our adventure. I had been to Madrid once before, so a lot of what we did I had already done…
***Update: Roister closed in the fall of 2024, and has already reopened it’s doors as Fire. As soon as I go there, you know you’ll find my review right here on ChiLuxe! Oh, Roister, you have never disappointed me! This was my third visit to Roister restaurant in Chicago and I went with my brother to celebrate his 40th birthday! Roister’s Chef is Grant Achatz, of Alinea fame. The Chef was actually on hand on this evening working in the…
After visiting La Sagrada Familia and having lunch, we took a taxi up to Parc Guell. The park is a relatively compact 12 hectares, as it is not super wide, but instead just goes higher and higher up the hill. It is a beautiful area, and was actually not mega crowded when we went around 3pm. I also booked tickets in advance for this experience to avoid waiting in lines. You can do so on their website, and you can…