Gangsta's Paradise - Chicago

Finally we got some time off from studies and could make plans to travel. Several people from our group decided to go to New York but I got an invitation from an old classmate (we were good friends in elementary school) to come to Chicago, where she's been living for the past 11 years. Of course, I decided to go there. Who wouldn't? It's an offer you couldn't refuse!

We took a bus to Charlotte with Pablo and Kristel and had a great time there as well. It was warm but a little windy. Went to Starbucks of course and to some Irish pub.

What happens next?
My fish and chips - REGULAR plate is in the foreground.

Charlotte is not a big city  about the size of Tallinn but it is a financial centre of North Carolina and is also called Hornet's Nest (due to some historical stuff) and also Queen's City because it was named after the wife of one of the Geogres who ruled England.

I liked the square with the statutes of the founders and many other things BUT I didn't like the feeling of being constantly threatened by almost-homeless people. A guy talked to me near the place where we had lunch and said that I shouldn't be afraid of black people - they just find me cute.... Aww. It would have been a nice compliment but the guy wasn't exactly the Romeo. Grrr.

At about 7pm Pablo and Kristel saw me off at the bus stop and went to find their bus station. I got on the bus and drove to the airport. I had to spend the whole night there which was not one of my favourite experiences because they were building downstairs and vacuuming upstairs. Which means, I didn't get much sleep. I read a book by Bill Bryson about small-town America, which I liked very much. At times I wondered outside to take pictures of the moon.

Can you see the wolf in the sky? I could. That was kinda spooky because it was full moon.

Finally it was 4am and I got through security and at 6.30 am I boarded a plane and went to Atlanta, where we had a stopover, and then quickly through that Matrix kind of airport with people thronging and hustling-bustling I got to the right gate and onwards to Chicago.

Kristiina, my classmate, picked me up and drove me to the lakeside where I got my first pictures of Chicago.

Lake Michigan and Chicago cityscape

Kristiina lives next to Estonian house, which meant that in the first evening there I could go to sauna and drink some Estonian beer. (In Estonia I actually don't drink much beer but it tasted like home in Chicago).

Next day was the busiest. We went to the Willis Tower - one of the highest skyscrapers in the world.

At the top there are like glass boxes where you can look down on the town. Uhh. Scary!

The evening came too soon. Last place we visited was the Navy Pier and also saw fireworks and went up on the Ferris Wheel, which I liked A LOT.

Chicago at night

The trip was over too soon of course, but I really would like to go back someday because I absolutely adored the place and I didn't have the chance to visit so many places :(

The trip back went without a hitch and I am back at Boone with my friends and we are sharing our first impressions of the greatest cities in the world.