A Week in the Windy City

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June 21st 2007

Published: June 21st 2007

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Wiggy

Chicago

Crazy-but-beautiful Chicago

Hola

Where do I start with Chicago. I guess I'll start by saying that it is an incredible city with incredible spunk that has really caught my attention. It is the first place in the USA I have seen that I could honestly see myself living in... okay, I could if I figured that I would live 200 years, anyway. The city is crammed full of wild architecture from all over the world from all sorts of periods. The have also made the good move of making a law stating that buildings must be so far from the sidewalk so that pedestrians can see all the wacky-but-wonderful buildings without hurting their neck. The parks here are as strange as the mismash of architecture, giving the whole city - surprisingly to me - a diverse but coherent feeling that makes you feel like you are undoubtedly "in chicago". The waterfront is beautiful too: they seem to have done the job that Toronto should have done. Although I was amazed by how strict the lifeguards were: I got knee deep and was barked at, demanding I return to a "safe" depth... I guess that's what happens when everyone is scared of

Chicago

Crazy-but-beautiful Chicago

being sued.

I have done more 'things' here than I have in just about any city, including:
The Shedd aquarium
The Chicago Institute of Art
The Lincoln Park Zoo
The Museum of Technology and Industry
The Sears Tower
The Hancock Tower
A Whitesocks game
The Freedom Museum
Architecture cruise down the chicago river
A Lake cruise
Etc.

Needless to say it has been a busy but awesome week, apart from some nights made sleepless by unbearable heat in the hostel. It made for an interesting social scene, though. Everyone crammed on the patio for air half pissed off, half happy to socialize, and totally tired, for nights in a row. I met an incredible number of cool people, spending many days with two germans and an israelli and many nights with an argentine and a frenchman. I started an interesting trend of calling everyone by their nationality (and the stereotypes therein) to the point where even the guys working at the hostel called me Vancouver and the frenchman Baguette. Ahhh the fun of traveling!

Today is my last day here and I am sad in a sense but content in that I feel like I really made

Chicago

Crazy-but-beautiful Chicago

a big effort to see the city... I am also taking comfort in knowing that I will be back here some day. But, onwards and upwards - I will be in Toronto in two days!

Ciao for now

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