It feels great to be back in a diverse and cosmopolitan city. Walking the streets, flaneuring, drifting, getting lost in the crowd, are always re-energizing. Like a boost of freedom and power. Although this time I couldn’t walk walk Chicago that much due to my participation in the DML conference. I did have enough time on sunday and a couple of nights to walk. On sunday I went to the peers that are near downtown and tried to draw the beak of an amphibious animal.
When I arrived to one of the small piers near the shore of Michigan lake I was fascinated by the gooses that walked over the frozen waters. They moved with great comfort and grace that made me feel warm in the coldness.
One of the things that surprised me during this visit was the huge celebration of St. Patrick day that they city hosts. Downtown was plenty of people during sunday and saturday. The multitude was wearing green shirts and hats, and drinking a lot all kinds of Irish beers and whiskeys. People from all the USA seem to come to this celebration for the weekend. I was impressed by the size of the parades and the crowds. They even painted the waters of the Chicago river in emerald green. What struck me was the fact that when I lived in the Boston for three years I never saw such degree of celebration even if that region is supposed to be full of Irish descendants.
