Louisville, Kentucky (09/03/2009-09/05/2009)

To be honest, arriving in Louisville I was almost afraid that I wouldn't have much to say after leaving given:

1) I was exhausted from running around Chicago like a madman;
2) Most of my time here would be taken up by RA's wedding; and
3) I didn't expect to see much given I'm not really into baseball or bluegrass

Fortunately, life seems to continually surprise me. Louisville was quaint, but was still a proper city; 'Southern' [yes, I know it's not in the deep south] hospitality is certainly still around and present in the most unexpected of places; and for a city I expected to be quite homogeneous and segregated (as Washington, DC certainly is), it was quite culturally diverse, and not nearly as bad as I had expected. In fact, just as I arrived they were setting up a World Fair featuring cuisine, music, and other traditional performances from 20-odd countries right next to my hotel.

Of the few things I did get to see, I most enjoyed Mohammed Ali's museum. It was quite impressive to see how he used his boxing as a platform for charity and social change - something I was quite ignorant of beforehand. This is another city I wouldn't mind returning to again.

Chicago, Illinois (09/01/2009-09/03/2009)

Chicago was another great American city that I am embarrassed to say that I had not bothered to visit until now, and only by pretext of an extended stop-over. That said, like New York City, it had a sense of familiarity and nostalgia from various references in popular culture and snippets of American history that I absorbed while growing up here in Canada.

The city also felt somewhat like the mythical Gotham City of Batman lore with its multiple street levels that get progressively darker and danker as you descend, the elevated subways, and the neo-gothic architecture of such places as the Chicago Tribune building.

The people were warm and friendly, the food was good albeit unhealthy, and the scenery and culture were both quite rich. I was also surprised at how affordable the high-end venues were when compared to similar places in Europe and Asia. One of my personal highlights was stepping inside the U-505, the first U-Boat captured during WWII now permanently stationed at the Museum of Science and Industry.