While getting ready for the first leg of our adventure, I realized I couldn’t find my passport. I searched everywhere before suddenly remembering something important: we didn’t even need to leave the country for this trip.

As you’ll see, all sorts of replicas of famous foreign landmarks have been built right here in the USA.

Our first stop is the Leaning Tower of Niles, just outside Chicago. It’s about half the size of the original Leaning Tower of Pisa and was built in 1934, nearly 600 years after its Italian inspiration was completed.

The original tower in Pisa took an astonishing 177 years to build and started sinking before construction was even finished. The tower in Illinois, however, was designed to lean from the very beginning.

Located in front of the Tower YMCA, this steel, concrete, and stone structure originally served as a water tower. Today it overlooks a small park and fountain.

After spending an hour admiring the tower, it was time to say arrivederci!