Chicago
Wee Dave’s new home town was a blast. We stayed at Dave’s new apartment which had ample space for us all to stay. Dave had just moved into a new flat and his new flat mates were very hospitable. Fortunately they were warned before he moved in that three Scottish guys were going to be staying in their house for a week, and they were pretty cool about it. Ryan stayed on Dave’s floor, while Numan had a fold out futon in the living room and I slept on the couch.
Dave has lived in Chicago for a few years now and he was an excellent guide. We didn’t have to think about what we wanted to do as he knew what was good to see and what events were on. One surprising highlight for me was an outing to the baseball to see the Chicago Cubs. I am in no way a Baseball fan, and thought that the occasion could turn out to be rather dull. I couldn’t have been more wrong, it was a total hoot! Nobody goes to watch baseball, they go for the carnival type atmosphere, to eat hotdogs, and to drink frozen Margaritas. Chicago Cubs are pretty rubbish at Baseball, and unsurprisingly they were well and truly beaten. When we left the ground we didn’t see one unhappy face, nobody cared. At one exit there were a bunch of guys busking, using plastic tubs as a drum kit. A group of girls with temporary ‘Go Cubs’ tattoos over their faces heard the beat and started dancing like there was no tomorrow, it was as if the Cubs had just won an emphatic victory. This seemed like an alien culture to someone who has grown up as a Ross County fan following the Scottish 1st Division.
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| At Wrigley Field with Wee Dave and Ryan |
We visited the Hancock tower, which is the 3rd tallest building in Chicago after the Willis Tower and the Trump Tower. The Willis Tower (previously known as the Sears Tower) is the tallest building in the USA. It costs $20 to go to the viewing platform, but the Hancock tower is free to go up and is just a few metres shorter and has a bar. We also took a boat cruise down the Chicago river and lake Michigan. These excursions made up all of our sightseeing trips in Chicago, much like NYC we spent a lot of our time eating lots of fantastic food and drinking great beer.
On my leaving day we’d planned to go to one of Dave’s most talked about events, ‘Tranny brunch’. Every Sunday in a restaurant/bar in Boys Town (Chicago’s gay district) Madam X (Tranny) performs some classics (Shirley Bassie, Tina Turner etc.) while dressed up in some outrageous outfits, mental makeup and massive hair. With free flowing mamosas and bloody Mary’s, it was a great way to finish off my time in Chicago.
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| Tranny Brunch with Madame X |
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