The last day in Chicago.... We were kind a upset in the morning that we had to go back to Dallas that day (Sunday) afternoon, but we cheered up quick when I suggested to Viki, that we should be happy and not complain anymore because we had a chance to visit Chicago and had an awesome time over there.... So there is nothing to be upset about.... :) After that we didn't say anything like "Awww...I wish to stay here for a few more days" and so on. You know how I am..... always trying to find the best perspective :). That day our host, Andrei, was waiting for an other surfer. She was a German girl, who flew there from NYC. She was an Au-Pair there, and her year ended now.... I guess couch-surfing is more popular among Au-Pairs. :) Haha. We decided to wait for her and then go all together to Lincoln Park & Zoo, which was 10 minutes walk from Andrei's house.
This is a hand made 'whatever' haha.... He made it.... He loves to make things like that.... It is cute, isn't it?
It is just a random house.... I liked it, so I just took a picture of it.
First stop was a cafe/bakery shop, where we could have breakfast....
One of my favorite breakfast..... a pastry with coffee..... I love it :) However, I don't always allow for myself to have this for breakfast.... I need to have something healthy as well like oatmeal or eggs....
Anyway, this is the Lincoln Park.... we walked through.....took some pictures, talking, trying to enjoy the last few hours....
Andrei was so cute, he was telling me all these days that I should become a fitness instructor in the future.... lol.... He tried to convince me to take it more serious because I would be good in it..... Haha. I told him, to let me finish my college, and when I already gonna work in Hospitality Industry I will start to take classes and work out more intense and I will do that as a hobby.... I was just joking around, but actually it interests me..... :) But first goal is to graduate from college, after that I can do that too.... actually i would like to do a lot of things.... If i would have time.... I would like to be a better cook....haha.... so I really want to take classes for that....
The three couch-surfers/ex-Au pairs :)
People were doing yoga out here..... wish I could work out in such a nice environment :)
Having a little rest...
Pictures from every angle... lol.... I probably made you get bored from all of my pictures :D
Skyline of Chicago
This zoo doesn't have entrance fee.....We weren't that excited about it, but since it was for free we wanted to check it out....
They were so cute :)
Viki loves flowers....
Here Viki was laughing at me that I always take pictures of everything.... recording everything....haha
I really liked all these plants....
Water Lily is one of my favorite...
We gave a name to this tree... "Sausage Tree". (Andrei gave an other name "Dildo Tree" Haha)
... and here is an other favorite flower :)
Our crazy team.... :) I belong to it too even if i am cut from the pic :)
I could stay there for hours and looked at these amazingly beautiful plants.....
The next three pictures are my favorite ones.... it is so natural :)
... especially this :)
A photo when we are not posing :P
Lincoln Park Zoo - Chicago <3 I loved everything in this city; however, I guess I wouldn't really like the winter time over there, since I kinda hate snow.... I mean, I like it for three weeks, around Christmas and New Year's Eve, but that is all... The thing I am always freezing..... that's why Texas weather is more than perfect for me :)
After the Zoo, Andrei lead us to a Lily Pool. It was a very beautiful, peaceful place. I really liked it. I think it is somewhat of a hidden Chicago treasure. I am sure we wouldn't know about it if Andrei doesn't tell us. It is close to the zoo tho. There were a few people drawing. Also, this is a nice spot to hide out for a while reading. Why Dallas doesn't have such an awesome place to hide... :) :)
I love my Ukrainian friend <3
Andrei was so funny. He always wanted to take slow motion video.... so here is one.... (Don't look at my bra :P)
The BIG group :) Andrei and his couch-surfers. I am so grateful for couch-surfing, because through this website I met with awesome people. Also, it is good for our budget. Of course you need to be careful and well planned and talk with the person before you go there and so on..... We were so lucky with Andrei for sure! And he was lucky with us as well.... HAHA
After Lilly Pool we walked toward Michigan Lake....
If you ever go to Chicago, you can't miss out on having a walk by the lake.... When I see such a nice place..... i always imagine running there every day....
I can't remember what we were laughing at.... but it seems something was really funny. :)
I would not swim there tho..... The water would be too cold for me.... I so use to the very warm pool at our house.... I know most of the people don't like warm water in the pool.... but I am an exception in everything :P.
It was raining a bit....
I really liked this little pedestrian bridge....
OMG, I remember my feet was hurting so much after 3-4 days walking.... It was such a nice feeling to walk with bare foot in the wet grass..... it reminded me the time at home in Transylvania... I loved being outside without any shoes :).
Advertising my "cool" Chicago flip-flop. :D
Viki was hungry so we decided to have pizza for lunch. The last meal together in Chicago before we had to leave ... I heard from many people that we need to try it before coming back to Dallas.... It was a very delicious pizza indeed.... but I guess we didn't get the right pizza.... I wanted to try the Chicago style stuffed or deep dish pizza...
"Chicago-style deep-dish pizza has a crust up to three inches tall at the edge, slightly higher than the ingredients, which include large amounts of cheese and chunky tomato sauce. Besides the deep-dish style, there is also stuffed pizza. Most pizzerias in Chicago also serve thin-crust pizza in a style characteristic to the city, although Chicago-style pizza is most commonly known for the deep-dish style of pizza outside the Chicago metropolitan area."
Anyway, this pizza was awesome too..... but next time I will try the other kind :)
We stopped somewhere in Old Town, close to his place for a coffee..... I can drink coffee all day long.... I need to make a limit with this.... anyway, while we were at that shop, Andrei run to a Potbelly to get his favorite shake. We all tried it.... and we all loved it. I never ever had such a delicious shake. It was a Vanilla-Oreo version. After that, we all were headed to that place to get our milk shake....
These are paintings that Andrei draw/paint.... I have no clue what it is.... but i like it :)
A very last picture together... He helped to take our baggage to the train station....
Waiting for the train..... heading to the airport....
I was kinda upset because I wanted to made someone's day but it didn't turned out that way...lol. My train card was still good for an other day with unlimited rides.... and also, I purchased a card which is 5 extra bucks.... Anyway, I wanted to give it to someone to use it... at least I could save some money for him/her. I picked a man who was waiting in line to get a ticket. He looked kinda poor because of his clothing.... I told him, that "I am leaving, and my card is still good for one more day and I am happy to give it to you to use it"......... and can you guess what was his reaction??? "OKAY" He didn't even say "Thank You" or at least give a smile.... I know every person is different.... but little things like that can make my day... or even a smile/compliment from a random people....
Bye Bye Chicago (not welcome :P), we had so much fun and an awesome time in the windy city, but Dallas is waiting for us..... :)
We had a transfer in New Orleans. When we got there, we realized that our plane was delayed with 2 hours. It made a huge difference because we were so tired and our flight landed at 1:40 a.m. instead of 11:40 p.m. I asked Firas to come pick us up.... and I felt so bad that he needed to be awake till so late, especially when he needed to go to work next day.... But he is super nice and he loves us..... so he tried to calm me down, that there is no need to be worry about that at all. :) I have awesome friends who are always there for me..... of course I am always there for them too! :)
