New Year's Eve in Chicago

I booked the trip 3 months in advance with Alitalia, and I booked the hotel on hotels.com, which I recommend along with booking — prices are often lower on these sites than on the hotel's own site. I stayed at "The Wit", which I recommend for its unbeatable location, reachable by metro directly from the airport, for its affordable prices (I repeat...booking 3 months in advance) and for the fact that it's brand new. At first I was a bit unsure, but Chicago really is a beautiful city, though in winter it's freezing and is mainly worth visiting for its architecture; in summer you'll perhaps find other entertainments too. If you're a fan of modern architecture you can't miss it; in that case I also recommend a day in Oak Park, a district west of Chicago, which was the residence for several years of the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright — there you can visit the architect's home and studio.

Warning: there are no Italian audio guides, and you'll be forced to listen to the American guide, which honestly was almost incomprehensible; if you want, there's also a tour of the district with an audio guide (this time Italian is available) that shows you Wright's other works in the area. If you go, don't book tickets online (though do take a look at gowright.org to get an idea); they carry a surcharge for advance booking but usually there's room for everyone. In Oak Park I also recommend the Unity Temple, again by Wright; it's rather poorly maintained considering its importance, they're renovating it, but the ticket is cheap (6 dollars) and they let you stay as long as you like without rushing, and there's a guide written in Italian. Also by Wright, south of Chicago, there's the Robie House, one of his most beautiful and famous villas.

Honestly I'd advise going to see it only if you're a real enthusiast, because you'll lose at least half a day getting there by metro, and although it's beautiful outside, inside it's kept in a sorry state. In Chicago you can see everything important in 5-6 days. Go to Millennium Park, to Navy Pier (truly unmissable at Christmas time; inside they set up a spectacular funfair with millions of lights and hundreds of Christmas trees). Go up the Willis Tower, wander the Loop and the Magnificent Mile, go to hear Jazz in the university district and Blues in a venue that doesn't cost too much — Andy's is fine too. As for museums, you'll find a good deal if you buy all the tickets together for: the aquarium, the observatory, the science museum, and one of the 2 panoramic skyscrapers (the Willis Tower or the Hancock Center) at any of the above attractions.

Honestly I only went up the Willis Tower (worth the visit, if only to be able to say you've looked at the view from the tallest skyscraper in America and climbed 103 floors in 60 seconds!) and to the science museum, which is in more or less the same area as the Robie House — but there, unless you're American children, you'll hardly enjoy yourself; for an adult, honestly, I'd advise against it. The Art Institute I neither recommend nor discourage; just know that here too the Italian audio guide isn't available, which is absurd for a museum of world renown. If you just want to pop in without wasting time, on Thursday afternoons after 5 it's free (my guide said Tuesday), but if you want to visit it properly and in full you'll have to go early. To get around I recommend only the weekly CTA card; as far as I'm concerned I never used the bus, only the metro.

My impression is that they're very unused to foreign tourists here; most tourists here are American or Canadian, and it's no use asking them to speak more slowly — their slang, completely different from the English we studied at school, remains indecipherable at first, but after a couple of days you'll start to understand them, at least on the second try. Still, Americans are fantastic people; they have great civility, they respect the rules, they greet each other in the street and strike up a conversation in no time, there's a sort of climate of familiarity and joie de vivre. Don't hesitate to ask for information: the guy near the metro turnstiles at the airport, when I'd just got off the plane, practically made my ticket for me...so kind! In the nightclub on New Year's Eve you meet loads of people; often it'll be the others who start talking to you.

As for eating...in the morning at breakfast it was a laugh; I'd start reading the endless list of stuff served in the various Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts to figure out what to get, while the staff were already impatiently asking me what I wanted... Still, don't always go to the chains; for example, a place to have breakfast is Lou Mitchell's near Union Station (see the inside of that too, they filmed The Untouchables there) — typically American!! To eat...it depends on your taste; sandwiches (basically rolls you can put anything in) are practical, quick and cheap and in some cases healthy; don't think of McDonald's, there are chains like Panera that are practically for health fanatics, offering fresh bread and organic food. If you need a supermarket or a pharmacy, ask for "Walgreen" or "CVS"; they have almost everything, and you'll find metro tickets there too.

I also recommend Portillo's, a very, very American fast food; you'll spend little and the atmosphere is fantastic, at least during the Christmas period. Some evenings, treat yourself to a steak too: as they have them in America you'll never find them in Italy, not for their size but for their tenderness; the "prime rib" is the best cut, you'll be amazed, it's practically fat-free. Remember to leave a tip for the waiters in restaurants (in fast food where they serve you at the counter it isn't necessary), just as you must remember to add tax to any price (restaurants, shops in general) except museum prices. Chicago is a calm city, but avoid wandering the black neighbourhoods and, after sunset, sparsely frequented places. Before departure, of course, you also need to make sure your passport is valid and fill in a form on the American embassy website — frankly laughable.

Mine was then requested at the Alitalia desk, but they still made me fill it in again on board along with the customs declaration. Also know that the metro ticket machines don't give change, so try to set off with a few loose dollars or get your money changed as soon as you arrive, if you don't want the machines to keep the change! To phone Italy there are 2 methods: either take a look at your provider's offers (make sure your phone works on several frequency bands — my N73 got a signal but my brother's phone didn't; I don't know if tri-band is enough or whether you need quad-band), or with 5 dollars you can buy a card to call abroad (at a CVS or Walgreens pharmacy).

To use them, first of all ask the hotel whether local calls are free; you'll avoid having to go looking for a public phone (often found only in metro stations or strictly tourist spots) and above all you'll avoid having to hunt for quarters every time; dial the local number written on the back of the phone card you bought and scratch off the silver strip, enter it, and then dial the phone number including the country code, for Italy 0039. You'll be able to talk for ages at little cost! If you want to ask me anything else, just write to me.