Oh it’s a cool place, it really is. And this is from the girl who’s just moved to NYC.

To prove my point, today’s post will be brought to you by a whole lotta photos.
First up, it snowed all weekend! This is the L line, the elevated railway that runs as a loop in the centre of the city.

This is the Art Institute. They’ve got a lot of very cool stuff – American Gothic, Mao, Un dimanche après-midi a l’ile de la Grande Jatte, a Van Gogh starry night. It’s a global art haul.

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and then this one…home.

I decided not to bother with this section.

After all that high-minded culture, I needed to get some perspective, so took the lift up 96 floors to the top of the John Hancock Center and the Signature Lounge. One espresso martini later (American cocktails are strong), it was time for sleep.

The next day, I geeked it up with a guided architectural walk around downtown.

I wandered through Millennium Park and took a photo of myself in the bean right next to the site of Obama’s victory speech 4 years ago.

I then went and ate a ton of stuff. It’s inevitable, I will return to England with some invaluable life and work experience and gout. NB: I didn’t actually eat at Maccy D’s (famous for being the first in the world to have a dual lane drive-thru) nor Ed Debevic’s. Positively abstemious of me.

Next stop, Navy Pier and a frozen Lake Michigan.

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Then the Willis Tower and a touch of vertigo.

And before I slept, I went to Second City, birthplace of comics including Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Steve Carrell…

But not before cheering on, well, both of them, from a pub in Lincoln Park. Super Bowl!

So long, Windy City, you’ve been a wonder.