A Nice Place to Visit . . .

Crossing the street in downtown Chicago is a contact sport.

Chicago is nothing if not noisy. The downtown is jammed with people and with normal city traffic compounded by ambulances, their sirens blaring, seemingly on every street, making one think there are either many sick and injured here or simply a lot of bored EMTs. Cops are everywhere--some left over from last weekend's NATO conference. On the whole they are a jolly bunch, much nicer than the ones we have in Maine, possibly because they actually have something to do. Many methods of transportation are visible at every turn: buses, trains, planes, taxis, boats, cars. There is shopping, shopping and more shopping, ranging from the tacky little souvenir shops to the elegant, high-end designer boutiques. Lots to eat and drink, with two Starbucks on every street. Admittedly Chicago has stunning architecture that begs to be photographed, which I have done for the last five days, but still it feels like the kind of city that could easily host an outbreak of the plague should that ever make a comeback. Going back to Maine tomorrow will be both a relief and a letdown.