Trip to Chicago

 Today, well actually yesterday, I applied for my Italian student visa in downtown Chicago. It was a very enjoyable trip with my mom and dad. I was at a church camp from Monday - Thursday where my parents picked me up and we headed east toward Chicago. The ride to the windy city seemed like a fairly quick nine-hour drive.
Once we arrived to our hotel in Elk Grove Village, a suburb just outside of Chicago, we relaxed for a bit and then went to eat at Baby Ray's BBQ. It was extremely nice outside so we decided to sit outside where we enjoyed the view of airplanes flying directly over us every 60 seconds. After we eat, we went back to the hotel and relaxed the rest of the night.
We woke up the next morning at 4:30 in order to make the 6:00 shuttle to Chicago O'Hare International Airport. When we got to O'Hare we found the blue line, Chicago's public train system, which took us downtown to Grant Street where we walked about a mile until we found Michigan Avenue, the street the Italian Consulate is located on. Because it was only about 7:30 AM and the consulate offices didn't open until 9:00, we decided to walk eastward towards Lake Michigan, one of the five great lakes. It took about 20 minutes to make it to the beaches of Lake Michigan. Once we got to the lake, my mother and I walked in the lake until we were ankle-deep. The water was cold!
We headed back towards the consulate at 8:15 but stopped to look in some buildings like the Chicago Tribune. We went to the consulate offices at 9:00 and waited. My appointment was scheduled for 10:00 but my name wasn't called until about 10:35. It was about 15 minutes of exchanging papers, signing a few things, and fixing a few minor details but the process went over very well. The consulate officer was extremely nice. She used to live in Venice and told me she has been to Syracuse many times and said that it is one of the most beautiful Italian cities.
After the visa appointment, we walked down the street to the Willis Tower, the tallest building in the USA. (Yeah, it's huge.) After this, we made our way back to the blue line, to the airport, to the hotel, and then headed west towards South Dakota. We arrived home at midnight. I slept a majority of the way home (which explains why I'm posting this at 2:00 in the morning). When I got home, I saw my French sister Elena who is back for a few days. I also met her sister Elsa who is also very kind.
The trip to Chicago and back was fast but very fun. I would love to return someday.

P.S. Sorry that the video is sideways!

AF