The Riverwalk: Five miles of winding brick roads wrap around the DuPage River in Downtown Naperville with beautiful parks, Centennial Beach (community pool since 1931 & where Derek used to ignore me to meet girls) and the Paddle Boat Quarry. The Riverwalk is a great way to see different parts of Downtown Naperville--a wonderful example of urban parks. When we were in high school, it was cool to "cruise" around in car.....yeah, I'm not sure why that was cool. www.napervilleparks.org
Naper Settlement: Living history museum that tells how life was for people during the 19th century. Amongst original structures, there are lots of events for young and old. www.napersettlement.org
For the kids: The DuPage County Children's museum is a hands-on, interactive learning center featuring numerous exhibits and work areas to stimulate curiosity, creativity and problem solving. Children can work with real tools, magnets, bubbles and textiles. I've never been here as it was a lumber store when I was a kid--but it looks awesome! www.dupagechildrensmuseum.org
Food: If you're looking for your typical Chicago-style pizza, Lou Malnati's is a famous place that cooks up huge pizza's in a converted fire house (LOU MALNATI'S PIZZERIA 131 W. Jefferson Ave. 630-717-0700). A great breakfast place that serves up killer banana/blackberry pancakes is Egg Harbor cafe (EGG HARBOR CAFÉ 175 W. Jackson Avenue 630-548-1196)--right off the Riverwalk. For good Italian, La Sorella di Francesa (LA SORELLA DI FRANCESCA 18 W. Jefferson Ave. 630-961-2706 ) is the same as the famed Francesa's downtown Chicago. One of my favorite places for Mexican food is Potter's Place (POTTER'S PLACE 29 W. Jefferson Ave. 630-355-9165), a great hole in the wall for enchiladas, beer and a shot.
Bar/Pubs: Really there is only one place I go when I come home, Quigley's Irish Pub (QUIGLEY'S IRISH PUB43 E. Jefferson Avenue 630-428-4774), was built by Irish carpenters with every piece of wood and stained glass brought over from Ireland. A great pint of Guinness and a wonderful mix of old and young..just like Ireland! They also serve food and have live Irish music.
