Category: Travel

I have just come back from a holiday in Chicago. I have been there very many times, but always enjoy going again and always find new and rather surprising things to do.

It is a very special place. If you love your architecture then you will find plenty to enjoy. The boat trips down the river were really busy, and are worth doing.

It’s a great place for walking, and the food can be wonderful. Yes, sure there are the rubbish places, but there are some truly wonderful places, especially if you are a meat eater.

What sets the city apart are the people, who are genuinely friendly and polite. Given its size, it is a clean city too.

Definitely worth a visit, if you can. Don’t dismiss it as just another big city, because it isn’t. There’s a chance to see some fine theatre at reasonable prices, and the Navy Pier is one of the biggest attractions in the whole country.

I appreciate that summer is nearly over here, but autumn is still a nice time to visit. Schools are back and theoretically it’s quieter and cheaper.

If you do come for a longer period of time, there are many lovely places to visit within an hour of London accessible by train. Buying tickets for trains is a bit complicated these days. Rolling up to a station and buying a ticket at a machine is definitely possible, but you won’t always get the best deals, so look on-line first if you can.

Anyway, here are some suggestions, perhaps worth investigating:

• Canterbury, in Kent
• Brighton (by the sea in Sussex)
• Rye (old and wobbly)
• Windsor (castle and park)
• St Alban’s
• Richmond (river and elegance)
• Kingston-on-Thames and Hampton Court
• Colchester (Britain’s oldest recorded town, in Essex)

Of course, if you have more time, Oxford, Cambridge, York and even Durham might be possible.