After all my ravings about how awful the weekend hostel was, and it truly was awful, the HI is not proving too brilliant at the moment. Firstly they didn't put any soap in the soap dispenser until three days after I told them, secondly there's no toilet paper in the bathroom so the cleaners clearly don't check the rooms, and thirdly, the gross French woman in my dorm keeps getting grosser! This morning after breakfast she decided that it would be fine to run naked from the sink to the toilet, use the toilet in what was a noisy effort, and then run STRAIGHT to the shower. The shower that we all have to use and whose door handle can never be touched again without a swift hand washing soon after to rid ourselves of her foul germs! I haven't been this annoyed by one person on the trip so far! Argh! Three more nights and she'll be out of my life forever. Thank the lord! I think the woman sitting opposite me in the library snorting heavily added to my frustration about the matter, so I apologise for the rant. Rants seem to be taking up a lot of this blog. Hope somebody's still reading it!

Back to my travels: walked up Michigan Avenue to board my official Architecture Foundation river cruise this morning. Being a river cruise, and more specifically a river cruise in Chicago... in November, I should have taken more than a jacket and thin scarf with me. As I did not I was quite cold! My hands just about managed to work the camera as the volunteer told us all about the architecture viewable from the river. It was all very interesting, but I won't bore you with it!

Escaping the cold boat I walked very swiftly toward the John Hancock building, but not before dipping into Macy's for a look at the Christmas decorations. If you take the lift up to the lounge or restaurant you can go up the Hancock for free, except for the fact that they stand at the lift doors waiting for you to purchase something from the menu before you can actually access the views! I ended up paying $5.58 for a mediocre hot chocolate in the bar, which only annoyed me because the waitress was rude: I waited at the sign saying 'please wait to be seated' before she promptly told me the seats weren't allocated and turned her back to me. She so did not get a tip. I tell a lie, she had to get a tip because I didn't have any change. b*****.

I tried to take a picture of myself with the view behind me, one of the perks of being a lone traveller of course, but I just looked like a shadow, so when an American woman wearing a shiny jacket offered to take it for me I was chuffed. I was chuffed until she continued to take numerous pictures even when it was clear the flash wasn't going to work, my face wasn't going to be illuminated, and my camera doesn't delete. Yeah, she was swell.

A walk through town to the Mr Beef sign followed, before heading back to the hostel for the delights of porridge and free tea. Tea with coffee whitener. Yup.

As I'd been so distracted by the shops and buildings on Michigan Avenue, or the Magnificent Mile as it's also known! I didn't have lunch until 3pm, which meant I didn't make it to the planetarium until 4. As it closed at 4.30 there wasn't much point in going in, so that's on the list for next time. I did get some snazzy photos of it though as the sun went down. I also managed to find Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears, and take some photos there, but this was only after I'd done a lap of it trying to find the entrance sign!

More photos followed as the sun set over Chicago, and dear family you'll be glad to know you've now got at least 4000 to look at when I return. Merry Christmas!