Lincoln Park and Twilight Riverwalk and History Tour

I'm feeling better today after a decent night's sleep. I was also helped by lower temperatures for most of the day and less humidity yet still bright sunshine. I headed out by subway this morning to Boystown in search of a store I went to last time I was here called The Alley. Unfortunately I was way too early as they didn't open until noon.

I walked down towards Lincoln Park and recognised a fair bit of the neighbourhood as I'd previously stayed close to the park. I took a look around the Conservatory checking out their vast array of plants and then went through the garden at the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pond stopping for a while before moving onward to the Lincoln Park Zoo. I didn't remember just how big it was and it seemed like I was walking around for ages looking at all sorts of different animals. It is neat that it's free to go around and you do learn a lot about the different species and their natural environments. Expect lots of photos from the zoo.

I walked further through the park then caught the subway back to Boystown to go to The Alley. They have so many great clothes, shoes and accessories which really go with my style. Alas I didn't pick anything up as space in my bag is limited with the inclusion of my baseball souvenirs. I caught the subway back towards my hostel, sat in Wicker Park for a short time watching some guys play basketball and took a look in some of the local stores. I then walked around the Renegade Craft Fair which I'd seen being set up this morning almost right outside the hostel. It was really busy and once again leads me to compare this area with East London and its craft markets.

I was back at the hostel for an hour then back into the city to meet Helen and Brian, my friends from New Jersey who'd moved out here just a month ago. I met up with them in New York at the start of my trip and it was great to see them again. We went on a Twilight Riverwalk and History tour and were joined by Brian's cousin and his wife who are also planning to move to Chicago. The tour was pretty neat. We had an architecture student taking us around and she knew lots of facts about the buildings around the river. That took us from 7pm to 9pm and ended at Centennial Fountain where we were able to see the Water Arc across the river. We then went to a pub for dinner Downtown and I've only just gotten back so will be off to bed very soon for my final full day in Chicago and in the United States.

Alfred Caldwell Lily Pond

Panoramic view of Chicago from Lincoln Park

Marina City at night