Obamas spend Valentine's Day in Chicago

For US president Barack Obama, there could not have been a better place than 'sweet home' Chicago for a Valentine's Day retreat as he returned here for the first time along with wife Michelle after his January 20 inauguration to spend the special weekend.

Presidents tend to have pretty nice digs for weekend getaways -- George W Bush had his ranch in Crawford, Texas while Ronald Reagan enjoyed the peace of his ranch in Santa Barbara, ABC News said, adding John F Kennedy took days off from ruling in Cape Cod.

But for Obama, there was no place like sweet home Chicago for a Valentine's Day retreat, the report said.

It was also the Obamas' first Valentine's Day as the first couple of the United States.

"He's a man of the people and never forgot where he came from," Andre Washington, Obama's neighbour, was quoted as saying by ABC News.

The president has said that he would like to come home often.

Zariff, who has been Obama's barber for 20 years at Hyde Park Hair Salon, said that they had rarely talked politics in those two decades. "No, I just stick to the barbering," he was quoted as saying.

But beyond the consistently good haircuts, there are three big reasons why Chicagoans love their city: breakfast, lunch and dinner. And the president is quite a foodie, the report said.