Update: There's A LOT of tipping in this city. They call it "gratuity charge", and is usually 15-18%. If you take a taxi, you tip. When you get to restaurant, you tip. When the bell-boy keeps your luggage for you, you tip. Ouch. Anyway, we checked out at noon, deposited luggage at the hotel's bellman, and happily went without any burden to Magnificent Mile. Shops are really posh there, so didn't buy much except a really lovely belt for mom. Yx bought herself 2 tops too, at $10 each it's quite a steal. We had 10 mins left for shopping, and that was when we passed by the Chicago Water Tower (historical site .. more on that later with pictures and ghost stories!) and saw these 10 pony-drawn carriages!! It was $35 for a half-hour ride around Magnificent Mile, and I really wanted to go for it but there wasn't any time. Took a bus back to hotel, collected stuff (tipped bellman), concierge helped us get a taxi to the AmTrek Station (tipped concierge and taxi driver ....) and we waited for the bus to get to Wisconsin.

Oh, by the way, for some odd reason all the pigeons came out to play today. Think it's slightly warmer, that's why. They are FAT!!! Almost double the size of what we have in Singapore! Hahaha ... very very fat, jolly and round birds. And not at all scared of humans!

Slept through most of the bus trip, but managed to wake to see a magnificent sunset (yx got a pic of that, upload it tomorrow). I'm now safe and sound in yx's room in Madison, Wisconsin. The fun begins tomorrow. Her roommates are a nice bunch!!

It's colder here than in Chicago, but very much more bearable cos there isn't so much wind. Phew ...

Time for bed!