Chicago
So I find myself now in Chicago... The Windy City... Home of the Cubs and the White Sox... home of Al Capone, John Dillenger and the rest of the gangster's of the 30's and now, more importantly, home of Paul for a few weeks!
I arrived on Thursday after a short flight but long taxi (weather conditions grounded the plane at Newark for 2 hours) and made it up to the Lakeview neighbourhood a few miles north of the city (see the piccie above for the view from the roof). Desparately seeking rest and relaxation, the Missouri girls rocked up the next day and we proceeded to hit the bars Friday and Saturday, so now I'm really desparately seeking rest and relaxation.
Went food shopping on Friday and had the first culture-shock of the weekend. Gallon tanks of milk, gallon tanks of vodka, gallon buckets of mayo, (I can't believe its not) butter etc. Definately a land of excess. For the record, last week in Holland I weighed 81kg's - I am going to re-weigh myself at the end of this month and see how I'm going - I think i'm up to 120kg's already! :) Especially as we went out last night and on the way home stopped in at a diner to grab some breakkie - at 3am!! I did get some funny looks when I ordered French toast with no sugar and heaps of Ketchup! :)
The city of Chicago is beautiful, it has a really good energy and the people are generally nice and helpful, definately one of the better cities in the US. It *is* missing the coast, but Lake Michigan is so massive that it looks like an ocean! Oh and I guess it does have the best pizza on earth!
So with temperatures hovering around 30C all week I think I'm going to spend a bit a of time down at the "beach" (there is a sandy patch near the lake - I'll fill you in on the water temp although it can't be any colder than Scheveningen.. can it?). I am also planning the rests of my week and time here in Chicago. I'm looking at getting to a Cub's game (Wrigley field is just around the corner), hitting (well, trying to hit) a few baseballs around a batting cage, exploring more of the city... not to mention my never-ending quest to find Magner's cider in this city! :) Oh and I am also trying to sort something for my Birthday.... Las Vegas is top of the list right now!!
Hope you are all well! Stay safe!
