Oh Chicago! Living in Peoria, Chicago often feels like a gateway to all kinds of magical lands! Sometimes quite literally, as the O’Hare airport has been the starting point of so many of our adventures! And in so many other ways – whether it’s a stroll down the Magnificent Mile, an afternoon spent at Navy Pier, or driving along Lake Shore Drive – Chicago always has that special something in the air! A weekend spent in downtown Chicago is always a lovely treat – throw in a night at the theater, and it’s a recipe for a perfect birthday weekend!!

Now it’s so awesome to actually stay in a hotel downtown – the parking, however, is another story! For a few years now, we’ve been using an app called Spot Hero to find the most convenient and not-so-horrendously-expensive parking lots near to our location – so we drove up to our hotel, fired up the app, and voila! The perfect parking lot, a couple of blocks away, Michigan Plaza garage – plug the location into Google Maps – easy, right? But we were in for a surreal experience – try as we could, we were just not able to get to this parking lot! Google would say ‘You’ve arrived’ – and we would be standing by One Michigan Ave, staring up at the lofty building! We did figure out that the parking lot must be in the basement of this building – but there didn’t seem to be any way to actually get to this elusive parking lot!

After we found ourselves back at the intersection of Michigan and Lake for the 6th time, I was back on the Spot Hero app, scrolling through our reservation to find a phone number, to find something, anything to help us get to our parking spot! That’s when I noticed the detailed, very detailed instructions at the end. This was an astonishing revelation – apparently, there is an entire network of streets under the regular downtown streets – so there’s Lake, and there’s a subterranean Lake and so on – all these years coming to Chicago, and we had no idea! Mind officially blown! And none of this can be seen on Google Maps!

With the help of the app, we were able to access this strange hidden world of underground streets – but finding the parking lot still remained a distant goal! It didn’t help that a large portion of Water street was closed off due to construction! So there we were – no GPS, vague directions, dim lights, dead ends, street closures and detours all around! And every so often, we would make a wrong turn, and find ourself back in the real world – back to Michigan and Lake! Adding to the frustration – we drove past at least 5 other parking lots – but the Michigan Plaza garage did not seem to have any intention of showing itself!! Finally ended up cancelling that reservation and making a reservation at the Prudential Plaza parking lot. Even that got confusing – as the sign outside the lot said ‘One Two Pru’, not Prudential Plaza!

We were completely frazzled by the time we walked back to our hotel – finding this parking space had been physically and mentally exhausting! But an evening in Chicago beckoned – so even with the cold temperatures and light drizzle, we set off exploring! In any season, Chicago simply dazzles – and our parking woes were soon forgotten under the bright lights of the Theater District! An absolutely ginormous Macy’s is right opposite the Nederlander theater – and Manasi got to try on some gorgeous prom dresses – high end shopping is something we dearly miss in Peoria these days! And what an absolutely beautiful store – the Tiffany stained glass vaulted ceiling in the middle of the store has to be seen to be believed!!

The main attraction of the night, of course, is Moulin Rouge!! We headed to the Nederlander – where, much to my surprise, ushers were checking vaccination records at the entrance! Needless to say, masks were compulsory! The interior was like entering a wonderland – beautifully carved balconies, marble pillars, a graceful staircase, and walls lined with tapestries! The stage was lit up in red – the Moulin Rouge sign front and center – with an elephant on one side, and a windmill on the other! Manasi was absolutely bubbling over with anticipation – who am I kidding – I was super excited too! Just being in that theater, waiting for the show to start – what a thrill!!

The show is about a nightclub in the seedy Montmartre district of Paris – the ‘Moulin Rouge’ – and it’s cabaret star, Satine, who is torn between her true love, Christian, and a rich benefactor, the Duke of Monroth. The musical track is delightful – mixing original tracks with popular music – so that all the songs are instantly familiar!! The cast is impressive – especially Conor Ryan, who plays Christian – what a voice!! I loved the songs – Act I begins with Moulin Rouge favorites, of course – ‘Voulez-vous’ and ‘Can-can’, and some of my favorites – ‘Firework’, and ‘We were young’, and ends with a medley of some of the most romantic songs! Act II beings with a rousing ensemble dance – instant energy – and then electrifies with ‘Rolling in the Deep’ and ‘Chandelier’! This was 3 hours of non-stop entertainment, spell-binding performances and mind-boggling sets and costumes! An absolute extravaganza!!

This is the 2nd musical we’ve seen in a theater – Manasi and I went to the Lion King a few years ago in the Civic Theater – but this theater, this atmosphere – it’s incomparable! Also, Manasi’s recent foray into musical theater – she played the Dowager Empress if her high school musical, Anastasia – has given us a new-found appreciation of the back-breaking hard work that goes into staging a production like this! I do hope that we will have the opportunity to watch more shows like this!! And yes, Ajey has once again pulled off a perfect birthday weekend – so any ideas to make his birthday extra special would be greatly appreciated!! In the meantime, let’s all raise a toast to ‘Truth, Beauty, Freedom and Love’!