2014: Philadelphia Layover
2015: East Coast to Wisconsin to Idaho to California
2016: Chicago Snapshots (with inspiration from my French friend's trip!)
[For all of the random things we end up doing in the USA, you can check out our #SwagVilUSA hashtag.]
My main ticket was a round trip from Munich to Chicago. I used frequent flyer miles to get my tickets in and out of California. This meant I had total freedom as to when I could land in Chicago before my red-eye flight back to Europe.
When I have freedom, I usually choose to make the most of it. I found a flight that red-eyed out of San Francisco into Austin for a next-day arrival into Chicago at 9:00AM. My Aunt Denise amazingly agreed to drive from where she lives in Wisconsin for three hours into the city to hang out with me, and we were off!
I had three goals for the day: the Bean, Lake Michigan, and deep dish pizza. Not lofty, by any means, but enough for a solid first impression and no possibility of getting overwhelmed!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiju2Qd6C91S44ENi2gZmuo8j-rYlSd_SpBY8ATly7DKXLYRQqqDlUSq5rgNb87kvnBfn0Js0yXuaB7m_3h2S3Q5STDjmMk82KEhmbm19vKOp4kUIQvQm1dg9nxVuatHGhUJbKKaQD_zw0/s640/1.jpg)
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![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlXb7oiitNyEGKYUDByI4_68AvISoOUhZrwOqoWteYRvIUHbYBjJDHZdTXUIP5TPQ97UcnGzZaXcZ-05DlVMPJoPoH3pM6j5b5xGPdhAGELv7cgY7gFZs-pNFIvBZ00F_ANN1p-f8Ey9U/s640/7.jpg)
Chicago was exceptionally beautiful, especially with the super blue sky, lake breeze, and perfect temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit. I hope I get to return to Chicago someday and really dig deeper into the city and the pizza.
Have you been to Chicago? What should I make sure to do next time? Have you tried scheduling crazy long layovers for fun?