Art and about in Chicago

Travelling on your own can be a strange experience. It has its good and bad points. Its highs and its lows. I knew when I took this on that there were going to be times when I wished i had company but I also knew that I could do this on my own and I had a wonderful time travelling Europe the same way. I wouldn't have left to do a year trip by myself if I didn't think I was capable.

Still, there will be lonely times. My first full day in Chicago was certainly the first time I'd experienced that on this trip. I put it down to a number of things. Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, the hostel was so quiet. No life there at all and being so far out of town just compounds that. I haven't met anyone there at all and not through want of trying. It makes you realise how important a good hostel is to your enjoyment. How a sociable home can help make or break a place. The other real trigger for the loneliness thing was that I was back doing an art gallery. Sounds strange I'm sure, but the last time I had done a similar thing was to the Met in New York where i was accompanied by Pilvi. Having had such a blast with her while taking in the art, somehow it just didn't feel the same now and I longed to have a voice just chirping in my ear, sharing my thoughts on things.

Upto this point I'd found Chicago to be somewhat annoying, irritating and lonely. I didn't feel comfortable and there are without doubt more dropouts here than in New York and Boston combined! Lets take that irritating point. Now I had fun with the El yesterday and now here I was again going through the same motions. I dropped $1.75 onto my card, what I believed to be the correct amount only to be told it was $2. Now, nowhere in the entire station does it actually tell you how much a journey costs! It seems like they are actively seeking to make you as annoyed as possible.

So, the Art Institute. Despite the loneliness feeling I ventured through the museum made famous (in my eyes) by Ferris Bueller. I couldn't find the painting that Cameron ends up sinking into though. Still there were enough quality pieces to give your eyes a feast. I think I'm actually getting to grips with what a Monet, a Van Gogh and a Picasso look like. That's a real improvement for me believe it or not!

I managed to get off around a bit more of town as well, locating the Chicago Theatre amongst other things and generally just perusing the sights and sounds of the City as I wondered around on foot before eventually deciding to have a couple of afternoon pints in a bar Downtown. Watching the Cubs game and having a beer brought me back around a little and I was hopeful that the coming few days would improve.