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Just came back from the USA. We started in Boston for my sister's graduation. Saw John Kerry (Boston University is largely democratic) and Hamid Karzai at her commencement ceremony. Ate the best fillet mignon I've had in a while at the restaurant called Elephant Walk. Went to browse old books. We stayed in Boston while traveling out to Wrentham - great shopping! - and then went up for a night in Laconia, which is next to Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire State. After that, it's back down to Boston to catch a bus to New York City.

Manhattan, gorgeous as always. We spent two nights in New York City, walking through Ground Zero, the United Nations Headquarters, SoHo, Tribeca, Chinatown, Little Italy, Little Tokyo, East Village, and Greenwich Village. In Greenwich Village, there is a street named Christopher Street. I should be happy if not for that my street is filled with gay bars, clubs and cafes. We stayed next to Times Square and managed to find food at the Bubba-Gump Shrimp Company.

We next took a bus to Philadelphia. Philadelphia is a quaint place. It's really historical. Think National Treasure. There is the Liberty Bell, the Declaration of Independence, etc. The Hall of Independence is here too. We took a round-the-city tour. There are sculptures and statues everywhere. So is the original LOVE sculpture and Rodin's 'The Thinker'. Philadelphia is called the birthplace of America.

We took a flight to Chicago, the city of skyscrapers, pizza and Al Capone. Chicago is one of those cities with two floors - the first is a network of underground tunnels thought to be the original streets laid by pioneers of the city. Supposedly a great fire came and all the rubble came down on that. Then people start building a new city on top of the original Chicago. The view around Chicago is great. We got a couple of fantastic skylines. We went shopping at Aurora, which is about 40 minutes from Chicago. The same day, we went up to Milwaukee, in Wisconsin. There we met a friend of my dad - Metcalf. He has a cute son and lives in a very nice apartment with a grand view of Lake Michigan. The next day, we went on another bus tour, and came off it to visit the Sears Tower, which is the tallest building in Chicago. The last skyscraper I visited was New York's World Trade Center. Let's hope the Sears Tower doesn't come down too. We ate Chicago-styled pizza at Pizzeria Uno, which is famous for it. It's really quite good.

Then we went home.