Champagne and Sushi

There’s a vacation, and then there’s a getaway—that quick trip out of town that refreshes your body, mind, and spirit. One fast-growing kind of miniretreat is the “girlfriend getaway,” a few days when women take off with their closest confidants for a bit of R and R, adventure, or shopping.

For some, shopping is all of the above. Shopping is relaxing and exhilarating—an expedition and a sport. A shopping weekend isn’t about mass consumption of goods, but mass consumption of an experience. And a shopping weekend doesn’t have an agenda. Or a schedule. Or a tour guide. It’s pretty much a free-for-all.

My two dearest friends and I try and carve out a getaway at least once a year. It could be downtown Minneapolis—or points beyond. Chicago has become a turnkey option. The flights are reasonable and the climate is similar, so there’s no need to pull out-of-season clothes out of storage. Plus, Chicago is an easy place to power shop. The hotels are smack-dab in the middle of the action, the cabs are plentiful, and the city is filled with pockets of concentrated shopping districts with a glorious assortment of retail.

Six years ago, I wrote of a similar trip for this magazine with my same two friends: Trish and Shelly. Since then, three more children have entered into our combined lives (Trish now has three, Shelly, two, and I have the twins.) We’re all in our (nearly) midforties. We’re more accomplished, busier, and wiser. And most of all, we are craving more time for ourselves.

Our most recent trip was in January, not exactly what you would consider the optimal month to explore the Windy City. It was a bit too early for spring fashion and well past the holidays, but I was able to tag it on to the end of a two-day magazine shoot. My travel mates took my lead and scheduled some business as well, so we all had separate activities on Thursday and Friday before having our fun. Here are some trip highlights.

The Hotel
We set up camp at The James, a fabulous hotel located on Ontario at Rush, just a block off Michigan. It had a facelift two years ago and is now a modern and hip, yet classic, establishment. It was the perfect spot to serve as the hub for the trip. The staff was attentive and pleasant, and we especially loved our Vince Vaughn–esque doorman—“Hey, ladies. Where ya headed this morning?”—and the complimentary car service in a tricked-out Audi Q7.

We opted for a corner “apartment” suite with one king-sized bed. The adjacent sitting room had ample space for the twin rollaway. The décor was very Design Within Reach, including a small sofa, a banquette and small dining table, and a low-slung lounge chair. It was easy for each of us to carve out space for working on our laptops. The CD player came with The James Euro-mix disk, but we also picked up Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black (to play before we went out) and Tony Bennett’s Duets (for the next morning). Great music makes all the difference in creating mood in a little getaway hideout. Once the dresses were hung, the shoes in a row, the straightening irons unpacked, and the makeup bags placed on the vanity (this hotel easily accommodated all of our gear), we were set.