Chicago!!!!!!!!

Our big family adventure this summer was to visit Chicago, USA.  My brother and his wife have lived there 6 years and we were yet to visit plus it was his 30th birthday!  I say surprise, but he did have an inkling we were going from his own brain working overtime!

We flew with British Airways and the staff were great.  Anything you asked for they helped.  They were always smiling and seemed to enjoy their work.  On the way back, they were not as relaxed but we were flying at night time - they were still just as attentive and to be honest, I could not really fault them.

Chicago as a city is wonderful.  The people are lovely and everywhere is so clean.  I have a problem with public transport but I knew I had to use it to get around in Chicago. I started on the second day and we took the bus a short distance to the beach.  Now, because my nerves were playing up, I kept trying to get out of the journey.  So we stopped for ice-cream and we were walking up the road in the direction the bus would go.  The girls started asking when we were getting on a bus to the beach and I had a reality check; 'what was I doing? This is ridiculous just get on the bus woman!' So we did.  Yes it was a nerve racking but not as bad as I thought it would be.  From that day onwards, we used buses and or trains practically everyday.  By the end of the holiday it had become second nature and even though the nerves tried to creep in, I occupied my brain.  The cost of transport is crazy cheap too - you can buy a weekly pass for $23 dollars which gives you unlimited use of trains and buses.  In the UK that would cost so much more and the Americans systems seemed to work smoother and were more reliable; how does that figure??!

Putting that aside the trip was amazing.  We visited museums, fountains, parks, beaches, movie in the park and even went to a baseball match.  I have never watched baseball so my sister in law was explaining it all.  The time flew by with all the entertainment.  I loved the intro's for each batman - music and video snippets of them playing - can you imagine having that in the UK during football?  Nope, neither can I!
We went up the Willis Tower, previously known as the Sears Tower.  You are taken to the 103rd floor and can look out over the city.  The views were breath taking.  They have also now built these glass ledges that suspend out the side of the building so all you see around you is air.  It was scary but we did it and my eldest even lay down on it!!

It was a brilliant trip and one that we hope to repeat in the not too distant future.  If you ever get the chance, take it and visit Chicago.