Pure Bliss and Getting Pissed

What do an afternoon at the spa and an Irish pub crawl have in common? Nothing except the fact that I partook in both today. Since today is the first 'official' day of my vacation I decided to start things off with a relaxing afternoon at the Aveda Institute(www.avedainstitutechicago.com). All the treatments are done by students so you get the great quality of Aveda products for half the price. I decided to do the Caribbean Body Treatment ($50). This treatment involves a dry exfoliation, mud wrap and then you are massaged under jets of water - it's the best of all worlds. I walked out of there loose as a goose after having all the stress pummeled out of me. After my treatment I got my hair cut ($14) and this included a scalp and neck massage. You can't beat the Aveda Institute for a cheap spa day. I also picked up some of their detoxifying tea and one of their singular note oils that is supposed to help energize me when I inhale it. We'll see how this works, but I'm willing to give it a try.

The second part of my day was an Irish Pubs of Chicago History Pub Crawl through the Chicago History Museum (http://www.chicagohistory.org/). The tours meet at the museum where everyone boards a trolley and get carted to 4 pubs all the cost of $25. On the way you get some light history and then when you arrive you get a half an hour to drink. My favorite place was O'Shaughnessy's, but I have to say that all these bars were fantastic and worth the visit. What made O'Shaughnessy's so cool was that that it was completly built by Irish hands (except the bar which came from Canada). All the workers were Chicago Irish and I think this gives it a nice community feel. I have to say that the bathrooms here were really clean as well - like freakishly clean. Below are the pubs we visited and I do recommend stopping by if you are in the mood for a little authentic Irish in the city, but be sure to invite me if you do!

Celtic Crossings
751 N. Clark
http://www.celticcrossingschicago.com/

Celtic Crown
4301 N. Western
http://www.celticcrownpub.com/

O'Shaughnessy's
4557 N. Ravenswood

Johnny O' Hagans's
3374 N. Clark St
http://www.johnnyohagansirishpub.com/