Coachella 2012, California, US, Apr 12

Starting planning for next year, you won't regret...

Random moments, Chicago, USA, Dec 11

As my brother says: "I like music with texture..."

Snowmass mountain, USA, Nov 11

As a friend of mine said to me: "this is the upside of living in a freezer..."

Lake Michigan (2), Chicago, Nov 11

Explorations at dusk...

Loop (2), Chicago, USA, Nov 11

Horizon has been defeated...

Loop, Chicago, USA, Nov 11

Fall comes, temperature drops but the end of the day produces a beautiful light to wander around the city with a camera...

Joy (2), Jay Pritzker pavilion, Chicago, USA, Jun 11

It is no secret that I adore Chicago, even in its feared winter. But this a whole different city in the summer; the city is vibrant, people are out and happy, enjoying the warmth from the city and its residents. And nothing impersonate better this joy than an afternoon concert in the park, where people is just celebrating life...

Millennium Park and South Loop, Chicago, USA, Feb 11

Different angle on upcoming sea of white just around the corner...

Chicago river, Chicago, USA, Jan 11

Even the river eventually succumb to the Chicago mighty's winter...

Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas, Nov 10

Man-made beauty

Central California, USA, Aug 11

We weren't given wings, but that has never stopped us from trying...

Fort Mason, San Francisco, California - Aug 11

The hero, the man and the dog.

Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, USA, Aug10

Moving to a different city is like falling in love; in the beginning you are trying to find your way in an unknown environment, exploring and being surprised every day by small and big things, and things couldn't be more wonderful than it all appears to you.

Well you can certainly say that I am falling in love with Chicago, the city I recently moved into and my home for the next 2 years. Despite all warnings of how cold it gets in the winter, that seems so far like a small price to pay for such a beautiful, organized and charming city.

Last Sunday I decided to escape downtown (where I live) and to randomly walk in the cool neighborhood of Lincoln Park, where buildings are low and streets are packed with trees and children selling cold lemonades (yeah, I actually saw 2 stands of little children selling lemonades for a dollar).

After walking down some nice streets I found myself by accident in front of the Zoo, in Lincoln Park. It was a hot (pretty hot, actually) Sunday afternoon and nothing seemed more perfect than a visit to the Zoo.

As I said, I am in love with the city so instead of annoying (as it would normally seems to me) the crowded Zoo seemed like a charming family activity. And after some time there, and of course an ice cream (I was by far the oldest in the line to get one) I found myself in the south end of the Zoo, facing myself with a peaceful lake and trees and as a background the vivid, busy, full of skyscrapers downtown.

Sear’s Tower, Chicago, USA, Jul09

Uma visita em meio a um mar de turistas ao prédio mais alto de Chicago em um dia ensolarado normalmente me pareceria um programa de índio: a perspectiva de uma longa fila e um ambiente entupido de turistas é inevitável. Ainda assim, tendo em vista que estava férias e meu único compromisso era com o fato de não ter compromissos resolvi arriscar.

A chegada ao local parecia comprovar a expectativa: uma fila de quase uma hora para pegar o fatídico elevador. No entanto ao chegar no andar mais elevado o a esperada irritação, parceira constante dos programas de índio, se dissipou com a beleza da vista. O dia claro e limpo possibilitava uma visão espetacular da bela cidade de Chicago (quem sabe minha futura morada?).

Caminhando ao redor do andar me deparei com uma inovação agradável ao lugar: pequenas cápsulas de acrílico que foram incorporadas ao prédio e permitem com que as pessoas fiquem nelas, a uma altura inebriante. A sensação é de insignificância e liberdade, com quem caminha sobre as nuvens. Vale muito a pena!