Our Wedding: Katie and Paul : United States

Our Wedding: Katie and Paul
United States

Saturday 28 July 2007
Weinstein Family Home in Geneva, Illinois United States

Travelling to Weinstein Family Home

Geneva is 60 minutes west of the Chicago Loop, about 55 minutes southwest of O'Hare Airport and 65 minutes west of Midway Airport. It is accessible by train from the Chicago Loop, but not by bus. There are limo and taxi services from the regional airports to Geneva and elsewhere in the Chicagoland area. However, it is recommended that if you wish to see the sights in and around Chicago to rent a car.

Geneva is 6 miles north of Interstate 88 (Ronald Reagan Memorial Toll way) between the Farnsworth/Kirk Road and Orchard Road exits. From the Chicago Loop go west on Interstate 290 to Interstate 88 – West and exit Farnsworth Road - North. Continue on Farnsworth Road (which becomes Kirk Road) north to Fabyan Parkway. Turn left to go east on Fabyan to Illinois Route 25 (Crissey Ave). Turn right to go north on Route 25 to the entrance of Fox Run subdivision on your right, just after the forest preserve. After entering the subdivision follow Fox Run Drive to the right until you circle to Patrick John Court on the left.

Geneva is connected to the regional train network known as Metra on the Union Pacific West line (Chicago to Elburn). The line operates 7 days a week with service starting in the early morning hours until the late evening. In Chicago the Union Pacific West line terminates at the Ogilvie Transportation Center just west of the Loop. In Geneva the station is located just south of downtown.

Taxicabs, Limousines and Shuttle Buses are available from both airports to places within the city limits and beyond to the suburbs. However, do plan on spending a few dollars, at least $30+ a trip for taxis and limos and $15+ for shuttle buses. If you are getting a taxi from the aiports to a location within the city, then any city taxi queued at the curbfront will be of service on a metered fee. If you plan on taking a taxi to Geneva or any other suburban location or a limo from either airport, you have the advantage of paying a flat fee, but will need to call and make pickup reservations before hand. For suburban taxi service try American Taxi. For limo service to the city or suburbs give Chicago Limo or Windy City Limousine a call. Most shuttle bus services have information boths at the baggage claim areas. One major caveat about taxis, limos and shuttle buses: Chicago and its suburbs cover a lot of ground, 2,123 square miles (5,499 square kilometers). Drivers know where major hotels and landmarks are, but do not know every road and hotel location. Please make sure you have easy to follow directions for you and your driver!

Staying in Geneva
Currently there are no rooms on hold for wedding guests at any hotel in Geneva or Chicago. However, Geneva is a growing suburb with a historic downtown district. As such there are a number of places within Geneva that will fit any need.

For example for those looking for a todo the Herrington Inn & Spa, located right on the river and a within a short mile walk from the Weinstein Family House, provides a luxurious base for taking in all the best Geneva has to offer. Herrington Inn & Spa is located at 15 S. River Lane in Geneva and can be reach at: (630) 208-7433.

For those looking for something a little less grand, the Hotel Geneva (no website, sorry) provides a decent location. While we have no frame of reference for this hotel it is perfectly situated in downtown Geneva and again is only a short distance, about two miles from the family home. Hotel Geneva is at 224 W. State St. and can be contacted by phone at (630) 232-2440.

Finally, for those wishing to save a few dollars for wedding gifts, the Comfort Inn & Suites can provide a perfect rest bed. This budget inn is a little farther from the house, but it is a national chain, so for those familiar with the chain you know exactly what to expect. The Comfort Inn for Geneva is located at 1555 E. Fabyan Parkway. Their number is (630) 208-8811.

More Geneva Accommodations

Staying in Chicago
There is every kind of hotel and hotel chain under the sun in Chicago, so if you have a favorite have at it. Just a few to get you thinking: Hyatt, Marriott, Best Western and Travelodge.

A few personal recommendations include The Congress Hotel which is on the right side of town for getting out to Geneva, but even better The Congress Hotel is a beautiful old hotel, facing Grant Park with Buckingham Fountain and the Museum Campus. The address is 520 S. Michigan Ave and they can be reach at (312) 427-3800.

City Suites and its sister hotels, Willows Hotel and Majestic Hotel, are in cozy spots in Lakeview and Lincoln Park; enjoyable city neighborhoods halfway between our Albany Park neighborhood and the Chicago Loop. Clean and comfortable for the price, what more can you ask for, City Suites is located at 933 W. Belmont Avenue and can be reach at (773) 404-3400.

Places of Interest
Of course the first thing most people think about when they think of Chicago is the various skyscrapers that make up its famous skyline. The best way to take in the various buildings is to plan a tour around the Chicago Loop. There are a number of tour services (by boat, bus, segway or foot) that offer just that, but you can always plan your own. Must places to hit include:

The Magnificent Mile - North Michigan Avenue, with the John Hancock Building, Water Tower and various name-brand shops such as Apple, Nike and American Girl Place.

Grant Park - South of The Mag Mile along Michigan Avenue is Grant Park. Grant Park must-see includes the Art Institute of Chicago and the Clarence Buckingham Fountain. The Art Institute contains the second largest collection of Impressionist Artwork in the world (second only to the Louvre in Paris), American Folk/Pop (Grant Wood’s American Gothic and Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks for example), Asian, African, Modern, Contemporary and Medieval Armor just to name a few of the most popular.

The fountain, commisioned in 1927 by Kate Buckingham to honor her late brother, is based on the 'Bassin de Latome' at the Palace of Versailles near Paris and was built by Edward H. Bennett and is best seen at night during the summer months.

Museum Campus - Chicago is well known for its various museums, which are located throughout the city. No where, however will you find the highest concentration of museums in Chicago however than in the Museum Campus. Here in along the lake and in restored parkland you will find the Adler Planetarium, the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum of Natural History.

Daley Plaza, Chase Plaza, Federal Plaza and Millennium Park - Four public spaces in the Chicago Loop that have helped define Chicago as a modern American city friendly to the people. All four spaces are define by the buildings (Richard J. Daley Center, Chase Tower, Federal Buildings and Aon Center) and public art work (The Picasso, Chagall's mosaic the Four Seasons, Alexander Calder's Flamingo and Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate).

South LaSalle Street - The old financial corridor with its canyon of office and bank buildings capped by the art-deco Chicago Board of Trade building)

Wacker Drive - The only street in Chicago that requires the use of six cardinal directions: Upper, Lower, North, South, East and/or West, Wacker Drive runs just south of the main trunk of the Chicago River and then just East of the South Branch. If your looking to see just about every example of Chicago architecture without the need to get your feet wet, this is the street for you.

Neighborhoods of Chicago and its Suburbs - To know Chicagoans requires leaving the Loop and its immediate surroundings and reaching out. Chicago’s neighborhoods have long been identified by the socioeconomic makeup of their residents. Classic examples include the working class Irish-American community of Bridgeport (Home of the Chicago White Sox) or the African-American community of Bronzeville. Other communities have seen their population changing over time, such as Albany Park which has seen its ethnic identity alter from German and Swedish to Russian Jews to Korean, Filipino, and Guatemalan immigrants. Yet others are known simple as the place to be such as Lakeview (Home of the Chicago Cubs), Wicker Park and Lincoln Park (Home of Lincoln Park and the Lincoln Park Zoo).

Just outside of Chicago many towns play host to other well known elements of Chicago, such as Oak Park - Home of Frank Lloyd Wright and Highland Park - birthplace of Ernest Hemingway. The Chicagoland area also includes a number of large cities that round out what Chicago itself has to offer. These cities include Aurora (Paramount Theater and Hollywood Casino), Naperville which is noteworthy for being one of only a few boomburbs outside the Sunbelt, West Coast, and Mountain States regions (though Bolingbrook may join it in the next decade), Arlington Heights (Arlington Park Racetrack) and of course Geneva.