My last days off

I'm not managing to get to my blog these days and it's not for lack of time.
I am holed up in a hotel suite with a family in Springfield, Illinois. We're awaiting the babies to be well and fit enough to travel back to London.

Last weekend I took the train into Chicago and met up with Jane who flew over from NY. We had 2 nights (Jane had 3) together and stayed in a hotel quite central.

I had been told the architectural boat tour was very worthwhile and so had Jane so on the first day we dropped our bags and went off to do it. I loved it and I think jane enjoyed it, although we were both somewhat cold throughout the whole thing... I caught my first snowflake of the winter on my glove.

The boat was open on top and we sat there in the cold (temperature at freezing point...) listening to a very interesting woman disecting the city into eras, architects and styles. The cold aside, it was brilliant. Chicago's cityscape is awesome. So diverse and bold in the design.





We took a walk uptown the next day and on the way walked along the edge of Lake Michgan.





It has whet my appetite for Chicago and now think I need to spend a week or more to really explore.