"I'm from Chi"

Taking advantage of the three-day weekend, I headed to Chicago to meet up with my Georgian friend from Tartu. It was so nice to be around someone who knows Tartu again; someone to reminisce with, someone who gets my "Ohooo!" references. She made this most excellent point for all the people who want to be shown around Tartu: in order to show someone Tartu you have to show them our group dinners, Tobi Tours, games of Mafia, etc. Anyway, Tartu is thousands of miles away, and we were in Chicago! 

We did plenty of wandering over the weekend, but spent Saturday evening on the river. My friend's a photographer, so I actually got pictures of me this time! In addition, I tried my own hand at some fancy shots. 

We wandered through Millenium Park and found the Red Bull Illume exhibit, showing photos of athletes around the world. We were fans of this epic photo of a cat with a cyclist reflected in its eyes when we noticed the photo was taken in Tallinn by an Estonian photographer. Eesti wins again.

We picked up some Panera Green Tea <3 <3 <3 on the way home
and snapped the evening away to the Addams Family, bonding over our love of cheese.

The morning began with the Willis (Sears) Tower and its famous Sky Deck. The elevators are packed. I'm not the biggest fan of heights, but I figured I could totally manage this. My head has 100% grasped the construction of the Sky Deck, the fact that hundreds of people go on it every day, etc. etc. I was staring down 103 floors down as the people in front of us took photos and was totally fine. But, of course, the moment my friend ushers me out there... I made it, took some photos, did some weird scooting around so I never had to look down, and moved on with my life. Then I did it again, with the two of us on different decks so we could take photos of each other. But I survived!

You might be able to spot the Sky Deck at the top of the tower.
Sticks out from the building.

We stopped by a tea shop and I managed to only walk out with three new tea flavors. I'm counting it as a win for self-control. Next up was the Cloud Gate (Bean). Here's my friend's favourite photo, and as the photographer I've deferred to her judgement: 

Followed by the Riverwalk (after passing a police protest and have a subsequent discussion),  a Chicago hot dog (her first chili dog), and parking it at a bench by the harbor.

Fish were jumping, boats were sailing, lakes were being Great.

We meandered through streets, and found our way into the line for the Hancock Tower Signature Room. After waiting around, we made our way to a table and ordered before rushing to see this amazing, not-to-be-missed bathroom. I'll admit, the view was much better than the one from our table:

Straight out of a bathroom stall.

After leaving the Signature Room, we were starving. She was threatening to kill the other L passengers for their snacks. But the goal was Giordano's Chicago-style, deep-dish pizza. There are shops all across the city, and we had to travel to find one that wasn't crowded. By this point, we haven't eaten in a very long time and anything is going to be amazing, though waiting the 45 minutes it takes to cook the pizza might kill a few folk. We downed the cheesy bread so fast it probably scared the other diners. But we received this gorgeously cheesy pizza. I even took a video of the cheese pull, as per cultural mandate. Two pieces was plenty (in addition to the cheesy bread) to completely satisfy our starving stomachs. And we were sooo ready for bed.

I've seen every episode of "Sirens" on Netflix...

Downtown Chicago from the air, heading back to D.C.

Not only was it fantastic to see my lovely Georgian friend again, since she'll head home and I'll have to find my way to Georgia to see her, but it was nice to feel comfortable again and just hang out with someone. It was a feeling I didn't notice I was missing. I don't remember the last time I felt so at ease and I miss my friend, and Chicago, already and all over again. <3