the sunsets that made it worth it

i'll preface this post by saying that during my 3 days in Chicago, it was rainy & unbearably cold (for a girl about to move to a caribbean island, at least). the Lake View area where my friend lives is gorgeous and charming, but you'll just have to take my word for it. because while walking down Belmont Ave, my hands were in gloves deep in my pockets and those hands wanted nothing to do with the two heavy canon cameras i was toting around despite the wet weather. 

so the only real pictures i took of Chicago were from the warmth of tiffany's apartment looking out. the moment i walked into her 19th floor studio apartment, i was smitten. her view is ridiculous because it's a panoramic facing south and includes Lake Michigan to the left, the city straight ahead, and sunsets on the right. that view had me considering a move to her building asap. the first evening there, i kept thinking my goodness, i'm glad i came to Chicago if only to see this!

the following photos are completely untouched--because i don't have time to edit & because the real thing was THAT pretty anyway ;)

and another equally pretty sunset:

i loved Chicago--the very little bit i got to see of it. i didn't see any of the touristy things i should've seen, because i was mostly there to visit with my old roomie. and for me, it was more important to get to know her neighborhood and what her new life was like, rather than go to the top of the sears tower.

we had dinner out at adorable restaurants that she'd never been to before. we sat at starbucks on the corner of a busy street and talked politics as we watched people pass by. we talked about religion and philosophy in her apartment as the sunset hues faded to black. we went out on the town and played games with friendly strangers. we consumed questionable things in front of the catholic church and laughed at the irony. we slept in as sideways rain drenched her windows. we walked 3 miles through Lincoln Park neighborhoods just to get deep dish pizza in the middle of the night. we gawked at the gorgeous homes and picked out our favorites.

it was quite a weekend.

i wish i could've seen more of Chicago, but tiffany had to work again on monday and i was eager to get on to NYC... all the more reason to go back sometime soon! ;)