I stood on the balcony of my hotel room taking in the city one last time before catching up on some needed sleep and returning home the next day. I was looking at the city DNA of a layered, intermingled and complex interaction on so many different levels. From this vantage point I could see the government complex with it's pinnacle perched atop the massive structure like the Acropolis. With the next layer came the condos and high rises...refuge for the city dwellers after returning home from the mean streets or some late night rendezvous. The layer closest to me revealed the office buildings and just at the bottom almost out of view were the small shops that my two close friends and I spent the day exploring. So many layers of existence bound together...so different with different agendas to be accomplished so lives could be fulfilled and the city live on for another day.

It was a memorable time with my friends, all different from disparate parts of the country yet we all enjoyed the espresso, the conversations with the cab driver from Ukraine, the tears in the eyes laughter of Second City, the walks though small neighborhoods and fondue at Geja's. Me from a rural area, a northerner from Minnesota and west coaster left each other the next day and returned to our lives once more...but different having had the experience.