Chicago, IL

In Summer 2001, I was living in Chicago for working around two months. I took many pictures that you can see here in "Chicago room".

This grandly named stretch of Michigan Avenue runs from the Chicago River north to Lincoln Park. 'Mag Mile,' as it's widely known, is a shopper's paradise: you can find everything from the swankiest upscale boutiques to chainstores. Its most famous landmark is the Tribune Tower, a 1925 gothic masterpiece that's home to the Pulitzer-prize winning Chicago Tribune. Eccentric owner Col Robert McCormick had his overworked reporters send rocks from famous buildings and monuments around the world and then embedded them around the base of the building. The Magnificent Mile lies northeast of the Loop.

On a cold, brutally windy day in Chicago, when the temperature's sub-zero and strong gusts keep you from walking down the street, the first question that will come to mind is, 'Who the hell decided to build a city and settle here?' Well, nearly three million hardy souls now call this great city home, and they can thank the mettle and vision of their Irish, Italian, German, Polish, Mexican and Asian immigrant forebears and the folks that migrated here from the southern US for creating it. This diverse mix has built a city with an unrivaled tradition of jazz and blues, an astonishing architecture, an appetite for hearty food, award-winning newspapers, universities full of Nobel laureates and some of the most die-hard sports fans you'll ever meet.