myexperiences

It was a beautiful afternoon in the bay area. One of my colleague at work planned an architectural tour of San Francisco. I have been to a similar one in Chicago and wondered how well thought the city was beautifully constructed. These architectural tours usually leave anyone to deeply think about the stories of the day (century or few decades from today) that lead to the construction of the then skyscrapers.  We began our tour at the very historic Galleria Park Hotel  at around 2.15PM when our group begins to fill the lobby. Our guide for the day was the best architectural historian I've met, i.e., Rick Evans . So, let me begin with this part and expand into what we've seen during the tour.  Most of us walk around the downtown just gazing at the beautiful structures around us but would have never noticed the public spaces. Yes, Rick calls them PoPOS (privately owned Public Open Spaces) . There's a very interesting story behind it, use the link to explore them and make sur

Off-late when I arrive into Chicago I always am undecided if I have to take a taxi or an Uber ride back home. Today I was just so driven towards the taxi stand. There wasn't any one waiting for a taxi when I reached there so I jump into the first one that's available. On a normal day the airport guys would just direct me towards the taxi I need to get into but it was so unoccupied that one opened the trunk and the other was ready with the door open. Couldn't ask for more . So, the moment I get into this taxi, as usual I tell the address and pause for a moment. It was an old guy driving the taxi and he confirmed if the address was in downtown. We start our ride with the usual greetings and lead into a conversation about how his day was and then he reciprocates with how my flights was and the weather in the city I was flying in from. Then driver (Luis) begins to tell me about his family. I was abacked when he began talking about his family without notice but I  slowly sta