Only a couple days left in Chicago

Sadly my last days in Chicago have arrived and soon this whole summer break abroad will be nothing but a memoir. I will really miss this place, my friends, the beach, the shopping, the city, the foods, the drinks, everything. Chicago has been super good to me - the love I have developed for this city and how much it became my other home. I would encourage everyone to visit Chicago when possible, it's a nice city to spend the summer at. So many festivals going on, bars are open till 4 AM, clubs are always active, always an after party to find, Boystown is always being wild and happy. I think Chicago is a good real American lifestyle city. Far from the movies and also far from the dorky south. People here are smart, educated, friendly, crazy, open-minded and not-fat! haha..

Highlights in the city

The lake and beaches
Chicago is spread out along the west coast of Lake Michigan. Blue skies, blue water and hand made beaches give you the feeling you're sipping a cocktail on a beach in the Mediterranean sea, despite the water being fresh. I love the beaches at the lake, they are so convenient and close to the city and there's always something going on there. They are so much fun to hang out at on a lazy sunday, or to run along the shore. Where I stayed both this year and last yea there are a lot of harbors with all kinds of fancy speed and sailing boats. The first impressive beach is the one at North avenue beach. During the summer there are volleyball poles everywhere, a lot of big festivals like the air and water show is happening over there. But for swimming I would recommend a bit further north where's the Montrose beach; typically for families to enjoy the lake, not too crowded, not dirty, only the smell of delicious BBQ meat. Then much further up north where Lake shore drive ends the Cathy Osterman beach is located, though most gay people in town hang out there, it's a really clean and nice beach to relax at.. It is also quite a long coast so you can walk for a bit.

My residence
During my stay in Chicago I resided in Boystown, the neighborhood where a she-man on heels is not something to be surprised from. I love boystown, there's always something to do, always a club open, always food available doesn't matter what time it is and the-best-affordable-restaurants in Chi-town. And I also love gay people, since they are save and most trustworthy to woman. Boystown is actually a part of the neighborhood Lakeview. I am not sure where the part Boystown starts and ends, but I do know in a certain area you would see more gay people than elsewhere in the neighborhood. I love that Lakeview also really clean, but Boystown can be very loud. During my internship last year I was living on Belmont, which is a street with a lot of bars and people walking by what made the street so loud I couldn't sleep in the beginning. This year I was staying a block up north, which was a lot more quiet yet busy enough to feel like I was in boystown. I don't think I would want to have spend my time in a different neighborhood than Boystown and every time I bike to other neighborhoods I realize the same thing.

Some other sights from the city
To some people some things are a must. When my parents visited me in Chicago the one thing my father wanted to do was to have a picture with the statue of Michael Jorden. I took him to the United center where the statue was. He was so happy to have taken this picture - he immediately changed his facebook profile picture.

Then another things which I find quite special is to have a cocktail at the Hancock tower on Michigan avenue. Go for the Signiture lounge, located on the 96th floor and have a $16 cocktail or a $8 beer. I find it still better than baying $18 for the Willis tower. And the best view at Signiture lounge is from the restroom.

The metal bean is one of the must do's in Chicago. Although I don't really get why it's such a hype, it's cool to see. You can take some nice pictures with the city reflected in the chrome or stand under the bean where you can find yourself multiple times in the chrome.

A free zoo
Lincoln park has a free zoo which is actually quite nice to see. There are enough animals and the park is good maintained. During the weekend the zoo is packed with children screaming and shouting at their parents and during the weekend there are lines of kids with their teachers. So choose which one you prefer most.

Wicker park is the hipsters cavern. Some might not be familiar with the term hipster, but according to urbandictionary.com hipsters are:
a subculture of men and women typically in their 20's and 30's that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence, and witty banter. The greatest concentrations of hipsters can be found living in the Williamsburg, Wicker Park, and Mission District neighborhoods of major cosmopolitan centers such as New York, Chicago, and San Francisco respectively. Hipsters reject the culturally-ignorant attitudes of mainstream consumers, and are often be seen wearing vintage and thrift store inspired fashions, tight-fitting jeans, old-school sneakers, and sometimes thick rimmed glasses. Both hipster men and women sport similar androgynous hair styles that include combinations of messy shag cuts and asymmetric side-swept bangs. Such styles are often associated with the work of creative stylists at urban salons, and are usually too "edgy" for the culturally-sheltered mainstream consumer. The "effortless cool" urban bohemian look of a hipster is exemplified in Urban Outfitters and American Apparel ads which cater towards the hipster demographic. Despite misconceptions based on their aesthetic tastes, hipsters tend to be well educated and often have liberal arts degrees, or degrees in maths and sciences, which also require certain creative analytical thinking abilities. 
Honestly the urbandictionary has just described Londoners and Amsterdammers. This is the fashion hype going on right now, so I still don't get the word hipster. But! Wicker park is awesome. Another fun part of the city where's always something going on and where everyone is always happy. And one must-goes in Wicker park is Big Star. Which is a taco restaurant with an average wait of 2 hours and 3 hours on saturday to be seated. The food is really good and the margaritas are awesome!

The architecture
Chicago is pretty divers in architecture. Even downtown where you have all of the high rise you could still find beautiful family houses with a porch and a yard.

The friends I've made

So I guess that was it for this year. Maybe I will come back for a short visit next year.
And I will try to enjoy my last 3 days here, will be back with beauty posts on the weekend.

Take care and thank you for reading!
xx

Kady