We're heading into a bit of a run of visitors this month. Its great to have some new Irish faces and accents around to stop the American accent taking over! Last week Clodagh's family were over visiting and they took us out to a really cute Italian restaurant. We had booked the popes table which is a table tribute to the pope's of the past and present and the current pope's head is in a glass box in the center of the table! It was a bit freaky but the food was good and the craic was great!Last week was again a lot of work because I knew that I was planning to go away for the weekend and I needed to get all my work done!! Connecticut is a beautiful state, about 2 hours flight from Chicago. I was staying with some relatives, the Mosch family, Bev, Woody and their children, Ledlie and Carter. They were so lovely and showed me such a great time. Friday Bev took me for a tour of the local towns and showed me some of the beautiful old houses and amazing scenery in the local area. Some of the highlights were the 5 star stables/horse yard that we went to which was so unbelievable I couldn't get my head around the neatness and order of the whole place! Everything was not only tidy but matching and co-ordinating with couches and a kitchen for the spectators of lessons. I'm sure my parents would have appreciated that when I was learning to ride!! I also saw the cow farm owned by the people who own Manolo Blahniks shoe company. This place is painted white and again is pristine. The cows are bathed every day to keep them clean and the barns have huge cooling fans installed!! They are absolutely insane!! One of the best towns was Litchfield which has a beautiful old New England church in it which epitomises everything I have ever thought about New England. Bev also took me to the Litchfield law school which was the first law school in America. They had a brilliant exhibition all about it that was wonderfully set up and a really cute video. There was another exhibition of furniture which Woody had a piece exhibited in, and it was unbelievable the standard of the pieces created and the amazing patterns created in the wood. Ledlie and Carter took me to the local bar that night which was really good fun. It was a beautifully decorated place where all the locals go for a few drinks, and I really enjoyed just chilling out!The following day we took a trip to Mystic sea port, which is a recreated old whaling village on the coast. It was beautiful weather, the scenery with the leaves beginning to change color was just breathtaking and the houses and ships were so interesting it was a great day out. We saw the boats and people climbing the rigging and all the different parts of the old villages and how they functioned, as well as a fabulous art exhibition of maritime paintings. They then took me for dinner at a lovely sea food restaurant where the fish tasted like real fish!! Its been difficult to find decent fish in Chicago, so it was a real treat! On Sunday we took a trip to visit one of the family's relatives Bob Ledlie, who is a lovely man, up in Massachusetts. We then travelled back along the Appalachian trail and found a really nice picnic spot for some pictures. We stopped on the way back at Mohawk hill where we could see all the way to New York which was fabulous. Ledlie and I climbed a very dodgy tower to get a better view which was a little scary!! It was a great weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting family and being back in the country and the peace and quiet.Back in Chicago we have just had a fabulous night out for Ellen's 22nd Birthday. We all got dressed up and we went to a great restaurant called Weber Grill which served great food and cocktails. It was so much fun! We then went to the bar on the 96th floor of the hancock tower which is the 3rd tallest building in the US. We had Champagne and strawberries and looked out over the whole city with the lights and the view over lake Michigan. It was such a great night!