Visiting Chicago over Christmas

Hello Everyone,

My family, 2 boys and myself , will be going to Chicago over from Dec. 22-27 and I was wondering what the best overall dealership for exotics is. I haven't visited this site for awhile, so I apologize if this question has been asked before.
We will be staying at the Hotel Indigo Gold Coast and are willing to drive a little. Any other attractions or restaurants worth visiting are appreciated. I would also like to know if anything local is going on. Again, I apoligize if this has been asked before. I appreciate any help at all.

- John

 

For exotics you can check out, Fox Valley Motorcars, Lake Forest Sportscars, Continental Auto Sports, and Bentley Gold Coast. Bentley GC is the only one in the city, the others are in the suburbs. As far as restaurants worth visiting, well, clearly I'm bound to say Portillos . Also check out Unos for deep dish, though there are others as well.

 

i was there a few months ago, to watch my cardinals unfortunately lose to the cubs, but it's alright now. my dad and i visited bentley gold coast, and at the time they had a couple of phantoms, a diablo, murcielago, a couple of gallardos, an slr, a 360, 430, and a few others in their showroom. but standing outside, just walking around rush street we saw a gallardo, a few bentley's, a maybach, and some others. that was the extent of my car searching adventures during that trip, but ill be back again, this time to watch my world champion cardinals beat the cubs this season. but in all seriousness, good luck, i'm sure you won't be let down with your spotting.

 

Gold Coast always has a bunch of nice cars, they don't let you take pictures inside though and they usually only have a couple outside since it's downtown. So definitely stop by BGC but if you want pictures you will probably have to go to another dealership too.

 

There's a sweet new dog-care facility in Wrigleyville called the Houndry. Or so I heard
www.thehoundry.com

 

Don't forget to bring your boys to the "Museum of Science & Industry." Heck....You and your Mrs. will enjoy it also. They have the annual "Christmas Around the World" display of Holiday Trees and various Customs of celebrating Christmas traditions from all over the world. Check out their website and it will tell you what is going on each day throughout the Holidays.

Also, the "Kristkindle Market" Downtown at the Daley Center. See the Chicago Tree and they also have a bunch of booths from all over Germany offering all sorts of cool Christmas stuff. Food and Drink too.

There's a New baby Beluga Whale, just named "Bella" at the "John G. Shedd Aquarium", which is just yards away from "Soldier Field" and "The Field Museum of Natural History", where the "King Tut Exhibit" is still going on.

Not to mention all of the great food that Chicago has to offer....

Enjoy you stay in our great City! (Me? My Kids and I are headed down to Scottsdale, Arizona for a couple of weeks!.... )

 

Thank you to everyone. I really appreciate all your input and will definately consider it when we visit. In your opinion which dealer outside of the down town is the best? We will have to visit Bentley Gold Coast because our hotel is pretty close to it. Also, how long can you spend at the Shedd Aquarium? Once again, I really appreciate everyone's help.

-John

 

For Ferrari, probably right now Lake Forest Sportscars has a better inventory than Continental. Though Continental has an Enzo...

Fox Valley if Lambos float your boat

As a young man I spent half a day or more at the aquarium on a regular basis. If one of your children is a budding ichtyologist as I fancied myself as one, then it can be very absorbing.

 

gibsons steak house or the bar at the 4 seasons hotel

 

Also take Luxury Motors into consideration!

 

If they go to LM or Bentley Gold Coast, they'll need to shower for days to remove the slime.

Oh god, imagine if your kids turned out like those slimy/greasy snake boys they have working there. The stuff nightmares are made of !!

Of course this is just my opinion.

 

No, Billiam.............not just your opinion!

Those in the know, won't go.......and don't even think about buying a car from them!!!!

 

As previously stated, LFSC is better for Ferraris. They also do Maserati and Aston Martin. They have a GranSport track car amongst other racing cars (including a Formula One car).

 

Yeah, the Shedd Aquarium has alot of cool stuff. They have Pacific White sided Dolphins that do a show. And, as I mentioned, the Beluga Whales, with a new baby. All sorts of cool fish and aquatic life. Also a new Rain Forest exhibit.

Do the Field Museum first, see King Tut, Mummies, Dinosaur Skeletons, etc...(Your boys should LOVE That! ) Then walk over to the Aquarium. Walk around a little bit, then have something to eat. They have a restaraunt there that overlooks the Lake. Then, you can sit and watch the Show.

 

While I agree with your suggestions, I had to get this off my chest: I was highly disappointed by the King Tut exhibit. I went through it and when I reached the exit I couldn't believe it: There were barely any of the famous King Tut treasures Carter found in the burial chamber! There were a lot of smaller artifacts from Tut's family, parents and siblings and his own life, but barely any of the famous gold plated thrones, sarcophagus, burial mask etc.

I was too young when the famous exhibit toured the world back in the seventies (it never came to Switzerland) so I thought this was now finally my shot, but no. All the good and famous stuff never left Cairo. Disappointed I started to google the net and sure enough I found a bunch of people who had the same sentiment. Some even went as far as calling the Field Museum unethical or fraudulent for their advertising.

This might sound silly, but I'm serious: The gift shop of the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas has a replica of the burial chamber of King Tut with replicas of all the famous pieces and quite frankly that was a lot more exciting than what's at the Field on display.

You won't see any of this at the Field:
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Once again thank you to everyone for your suggestions. We were considering going to the King Tut exhibit, but now I'll have to reconsider. Here's our restaurant itenerary:
22-Bice
23-Gibson's steakouse
24- India House
(25 and 26 are still open)
Also any activites or events that will be open on Christmas day, please let me know.
Despite all the bad adjectives used to describe Luxury Motors and Bentley Gold Coast, I think I will have to go to Bentley Gold Coast because of the location and in Dupont Registry it says they have an Enzo, Bugatti, and Saleen S7. Thanks Again!

-John

 

Yes, since you will be so close to Gold Coast, you should go there. I don't think they have a Bug there RIGHT NOW, but thye did have one and may have one when you stop by. They are a Saleen dealer, so you will likely see one of those, the Enzo, an LP640, and a new Bent GT convertible. I don't really know if you will have a problem taking pix there; on more than one occasion i have seen people taking photos there. Have fun while you are here. Weather might not be to bad!!

 

I was 7 when Tut came to Chicago, and I totally remember it.
I thought the Field Museums current Tut exhibit was pretty cool.
Your gonna have to go to Cairo to see the big stuff.... which, while very cool, is piled up in a crappy building without windows, with the wonderfully filthy air of the city of Cairo coming in. Rows and rows of wooden sarcophyagi, falling apart in their plexiglass containers... really a shame. Egypt should put Tut back on the road for 2 years, raise >1 billion dollars (who would not pay big bucks to see it) and build the greatest museum in the world.

BTW... hit the Shedd, my family goes frequently... we all love it.

 

Both excellent.
don't know the India house.

 

Word is they're gonna do just that. I hope they will, I have seen pics of that place.

You seem to be the first who liked the current exhibit. Everybody I know who went there came back disappointed.

 

Any authentic Tut stuff I do not have to spend thousands to go see is all good with me. Cost me $20 to park, plus the cost of the ticket. Not bad, in my book. Exhibit ends in 1-2 weeks, anyways.

 

Oh yeah, I most definitely agree with you about the King Tut exhibit. There were some beautiful little pieces there. But there were mostly just a bunch of small little trinkets. I was expecting to see his mask, from the Cairo Museum. I mean, that is what they have pictured and advertised on every single thing that has to do wirh this exhibit. So I figured that it was there. And more larger items. But, there wasn't. And at least one of those giant "Dog Like" figures that they always show whenever you watch film from back when they first discovered the Tomb. The life sized "Guards" with their Spears. Stuff like that. But this exhibit mostly had small things, a couple of chairs. Some cool neck pieces. One plain Sarcophogi. Agreed....quite a disappointment if you are, like me, very interested in Egyptology. But still nice things to see. But they definitely over hyped it. We too could not believe that "That was it" when we came to the end...yeah, right into the Gift Shop.... (Yeah, we got a bunch of stuff anyway.... None of the chocolate 'King Tut head' suckers, though..... )

So, it looks like I'll have to wait to see all of the really cool stuff when I ever realize my quest to Egypt.

 

The poster you see everywhere is where the folks got really irritated with and accuse the Field museum of false advertising: It sure looks like the burial mask everybody knows and expects. But the trick is, it isn't: It is actually a close up shot of the face portion of that mini sarcophagus they used to store his liver. So that big face really is about a couple inches big, but it sure looks like the burial mask. So technically they didn't lie, but it sure creates wrong expectations.
And there were many folks flown in from other states and even Canada and they spent a good deal on not much.

Whenever you make it to Egypt go to Cairo (Cheops pyramid, the museum and the Sphinx) and then on to Luxor and the valley of the Kings. Luxor will take your breath away in its splendor, particularly at night. And the Valley of the Kings makes you expect Indiana Jones at every turn.

 

I did view the first King Tut exhibit at the Field. It was well worth the time and money. Judging from what has been posted, it was leagues beyond the level of the present show. At the time, I do seem to remember it being said, that many of the more spectacular items on display, would never be leaving Egypt again.

If anyone cares to see, what I believe is the largest permanent display of ancient Egyptian artifacts outside of Egypt itself, trundle on down to the U of C's, Oriental Institute Museum, it is a hidden secret. There is a lot to see there besides just the Egyptian items also.

http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/default.html

http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/QTVR96/EG/EgBull1.mov

Check it out !!!
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True, that's a great place. Has a lot of the Babylonian culture (big liongate on your pic). I love that stuff too. Berlin has the original Ishtar gate, absolutely beautiful; I had a chance to see that while visiting East Germany, but that's another story.

PS: Had to fix the thread's title.