I am home from Chicago.  It was a ‘whirlwind’ trip as there is so much to see and do (and eat) in Chicago.   Chicago to me is all about the architecture and the food.  The variety of restaurants/food in Chicago is incredible.  And for a very large city Chicago is quite affordable.   Back in Toronto one must not forget that Toronto too has great architecture.  The Toronto-Dominion Centre, designed in the International style by Mies van der Rohe, consists of six towers (TD Tower, Royal Trust Tower, Canadian Pacific Tower, TD Waterhouse Tower, Ernst & Young Tower, 95 Wellington Tower) and a pavilion (TD Banking).  The original TD Centre designed by Mies consisted of two skyscrapers (TD Tower, Royal Trust Tower) plus the banking hall.  The TD Tower was the first phase to open and symbolically dedicated on July 1^st, 1967, Canada’s 100^th birthday.  The TD Centre were the skyscrapers that put Toronto on the architectural map and changed the city’s skyline forever.   At 56 stories, the TD Tower is the tallest Mies van der Rohe building in the world!  It was Mies’s last major work before his death in 1969.  The TD Tower had an observation deck on its top floor but it was closed to the public when the CN Tower was built in 1976.  I love walking around the financial district in Toronto and looking (looking way up) at these tall and impressive buildings made of steel and glass that reflect the skyline from them.  Sometimes it takes a trip away to realize what is right in front of you!

      Toronto – Mies van der Rohe