Ramp

Chicago is unusual, and possibly unique, in that much of the downtown core is built in tiers of ironwork and pavement. "Street level" in this photo is one above, and there's another roadway layered below. Exploring this network, which isn't all that inviting or pedestrian-friendly, was one of the major goals for my trip.

It doesn't make a tremendous amount of sense that I would leave my Nikon D800 at home when I knew I wanted to go somewhere dark. But fortunately the little Sigma DP3M and Ricoh GR worked well even under these somewhat adverse conditions. The DP3M does have problems with noise when it runs as high as iso 640 – no, I didn't forget a zero – but I only lost one photo to that cause. Perhaps next time a monopod or gorillapod will be on my packing list, but these days it's hard to overstate just how much I prefer to travel light.

MCA

The Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art. I figured that if the bus stop sign was worth being put in front of such a grand entrance then it must be important.

Parking

Parking in Chicago is tremendously expensive – but then again parking is perhaps the most under-priced municipal resource in Toronto.

Love the BMW warning sign. "Caution! People have more money than you."

The sign to tell people to pay inside instead of at the entrance suggests that some jokers have figured out that buying a hi-viz vest is a great way to make quick cash. I'm not sure why they wouldn't just move the sign, though.

Tourist Snaps

Some obligatory shots.

Well Worth It

It's good to see that the pesticides are resulting in such lush public green space, although it's hard to imagine what sort of weeds would be uglier than the signs or the process.