Torainto and the Windy City

Since starting this trip over a month ago I have been extremely lucky with the weather, with summer temperatures and clear skies throughout, bar a day or two in New York. However that changed once I got to Toronto where black clouds and torrential rain awoke me on my first day in the city. I chose to stand up against the elements and did my usual walkabout, a few hours later I was soaked to the bone but had managed to see a lot of the downtown area. There are loads of skyscrapers in Toronto and judging by the construction sites on practically every corner, this will be a very crowded skyline soon. It's not all high buildings though as the city offers some very charming parts as well, notably the hippie street-stalls and shops of Kensington Market and the different ethnic neighbourhoods scattered around.

On my second day here the skies had magically cleared up so I decided it was a good day to visit Niagara Falls which are only about an hour and a half away by bus. Waterfalls are one of those things in life that never grow old or get dull for me, and Niagara didn't disapoint either. The mighty falls were very impressive and it was a new experience to get up close and personal as I took the boat ride on "The Maid of the Mist" which takes you as close as is possible to the walls of water and mist which despite wearing a plastic poncho got me pretty soaked once again. When I came back to the hostel a delicious turkey feast was waiting and lasted long into the night as Canadian Thanksgiving happened to occur during my stay. This was a good way to end my short tour of "America's Hat" and the next night I got on a series of delayed and detoured buses that finally brought me to Chicago after almost 17 hours.

I have visited many nicknamed places but never has one smacked me straight in the face quite as quick as the Windy City. Cold temperatures and what felt like gale force winds accompanied me for my whole stay here but I still had a great time and I like the city a lot. It is another one of those cities where you walk around with an arched neck constantly looking up but whilst Toronto's buildings seem fairly modern, Chicago's architecture feels more unique and historically important as the first skyscrapers in the world were once erected here around the turn of the 20th century. I spent three days walking through the different areas, with the iconic railroad tracks and rattling sounds of the "L-Train" following me around overhead and viewing the famous skyline from different angles but now it is soon time for me to leave as my nightbus will hopefully get me to Memphis by tomorrow morning.