This past weekend marked my 8th wedding anniversary, and we thought long and hard how to celebrate. In the past we've always tried obvious romatic spots (Bermuda, Sundara Spa, etc.) however this year because of limited time to getaway, we opted for a trip to Chicago.

A getaway to Chicago may be obvious to some, however as transplants to Milwaukee (from Toronto), we probably haven't been there as much as most locals. Thus, we were excited for this trip!

We started out by taking the train, to save the headaches of driving and parking. As it was a weekend (Sat - Sun) trip, we knew that the train is not catered and they allow food / beverages to be brought on board. I have to admit, it was a great romantic start to the day, as our beverages were mimosas for the ride down.

Upon arriving in Chicago we checked in at the Conrad Hilton, which is on Rush Street, attached to Nordstrom. What a great spot on the Magnificent Mile. I have to say the hotel had impressive service; especially since I was there on my Hilton Hhonors reward points and not paying anything! It didn't matter to them, and when checking in the whole front desk and concierge greeted us with 'Happy Anniversary'. Later that night they left fruit, sparkling water and a nice note in our room.

Saturday afternoon was spent wandering around the Magnificent Mile, and admiring the tulips in full bloom. There are very interesting art displays among them as well. For dinner, we had reservations at Blackbird restaurant, the culinary genius of Chef Paul Kahan.

Upon arriving at Blackbird, we were seating right at the full length window, and I was happily surprised as they swtiched our white linens to black, since our clothing would show white fibers. The entire staff was pleasant and the restaurant felt alive with a healthy buzz. Dinner started with an amuse bouche of garlic soup, with salmon belly and puffed rice - delicious! I wish it was a regular on the menu.

Following that I tried their fennel bisque with razor clams, candied black olives, marcona almonds and pickled ramps. The soup was rich, and a bit large, but the flavors were delightful. I was a bit disappointed that the razor clams were pureed into the bisque as I would have loved to eat one from the shell. As a main I tried the grilled wagyu flatiron steak, with ramp kimchi, buttermilk spaetzle, chicory and green grapes. It was a divine dish for meat lovers, but I would have loved more seasoning on the steak. The quality was there as it was perfectly tender at medium-rare.

For dessert I was torn among the offerings and our waitress recommended the kalamata olive cake with rhubarb, toffee and buttermilk ice cream. I was hesitant (sure, I love olives, but in a cake!?) but decided to give it a go. It was my favorite part of the whole meal! Spongy light cake that almost tasted like blueberries, along with beautifully carmelized rhubarb. I didn't really eat the ice cream as it was to rich.

All-in-all it was a wonderful night, and to make it even more special, the couple sitting next to us were also celebrating an anniversary and were from Toronto!

The next morning we were booked into Nordstrom Spa for a couples massage which was the perfect end to the weekend. The experience started with footbaths and warm neck pillows. Next we were whisked off to a massage room and enjoyed 60 minutes of relaxation. A great ending touch after the massage was the bottle of water for our trip home - a great bonus to stay hydrated.

So, ended our trip back to Milwaukee on the Amtrak and I was blissfully relaxed, satisfied and pleasantly surprised with Chicago for our romantic weekend.