Chicago in Three

I have much to rave in regards to how wonderful Chicago is, but so this post doesn't go on forever, I am going to limit myself to three main points of interest.

1. Food

After leaving Glenn in Logan Square, I moved to the AAE Panthenon Hostel, which left much to be desired, but was located in the heart and blessed soul of Greektown. Which meant, food food food. You couldn't swing an olive branch without hitting something delicious. Greek restaurants, Greek cafes, Greek bakeries, Greek butchers, even Greek take-out. I ate so much souvlaki and baklava, I now outweigh my backpack.

And if I wasn't eating Greek, I was eating pizza - famous deep dish pizza which is so deep you could practically swim in the cheese layering. So deep, so cheesy, but so good. The AAE Panthenon, while located in Greektown, was also conveniently located around the corner from Giordano's - a Chicago pizza institution. And as I couldn't find anyone to share a pizza with me because my hostel was a wasteland, I ate one all to myself. Now, my backpack is carrying me.

Along with these, there were also other delictable discoveries. Ear Wax - the vegetarian cafe on Milwaukee St, Wicker Park that makes wicked falafel and gives you a big dump of hummus as a side. And Nookies Tree in Belmont, where not only did I get the best vegetarian burger, complete with cucumber and mango salsa, but the gay waiter (this being Belmont) said that he liked my polkadot pants and that I was styling.

By the way - the vegetarian cafe, the vegetarian burger - I know it might sound like I'm turning vegetarian, but it's only because I am suffering from the sheer lack of vegetables in my life. I am still a meat-eater, I swear.

2. BeveragesAnd if I wasn't eating Greek or pizza or the occassional vegetable, I was drinking coffee. That's right, for the first time in the four months I have been in America, I FINALLY found first-class expresso coffee at the cafe group, Intellegentsia. Sweet, expresso relief. And while they may not make a flat white, or know what a piccolo is, one of their baristas was crowned the world champ at the 2010 Barista World Championships. Although, I would still argue that Le Monde is better. But then again, I am biased.

And there was also the occassional drinking of alcoholic beverages at assorted hole-in-the-wall bars throughout Wicker park.

 

3. The Art

Okay, so I know I've crooned this repetitively like a rooster but the art in Chicago really is unlike anything else. There is so much to look at, so much that isn't hidden behind a frame and a barrier in a gallery. It's all out there on the street and in the people you pass and the hopeful buskers playing blues ballads on the train platforms. The skyscrapers themselves personify Chicago - the way they reflect the sky's electric hue and force you to see the world from a new perspective.

 
Ciao for now. xo

Be'an in The Windy City

After spending the day in Chicago, I've definitely come to realise - summer is over.

The Windy City showed me just why she was christened with such a nickname as Glenn and I headed Down Town for the day. The wind whips through the city streets like a hot knife through butter and for the first time, I was confronted with the real cold of the north. Canada is certainly going to be an interesting experience...

But not even the cold could detract from the beautiful Chicago city. Beautiful doesn't even do it justice. When the clouds cleared long enough for the sun to pop its head out, you couldn't tell which was the city skyline and which was the sky. Every window in every skyscraper reflected the brilliant blue, creating a mozaic of sky and glass. 

Everything in Chicago - architecture, sculptures, gardens, pavements - is an opportunity to push the envelope in what is interesting and obscure. There's the art that hangs in meticulous position at the Chicago Institute of Art and then there's the gigantic eyeball that lies in the middle of the city for everyone to appreciate. Brick walls are covered in professional grafitti and gardens are filled with iron sculptures.

And then there's The Bean - a gigantic metal kidney bean which sits in the middle of Millenium Square. From every angle, the bent metal reflects obscure images of itself and the city, strange warped perspectives that make for the most interesting photographs. If my camera battery hadn't run out, I could have filled a few gigabytes worth just taking photos of every aspect of The Bean. It definitely lived up to the hype.

The more I see of Chicago, the more tempted I am to move here.

Ciao for now. xo

Welcome to Chicag-ie

Despite the six hour commute between St Louis and Chicago, I really had little to complain about. Taking the Amtrak train is like travelling first class compared to the flea-infested Greyhound. Rather than sitting next to an ex-felon or a woman who smells like bacon, I sat next to a lovely girl who did her trigonometry test and didn't say a peep. I stretched out in my luxuriously large train seat, ate a packet of MnMs and  took in the beautiful scenery flying by. Then I watched High Fidelity on my laptop, an ironic choice you could say, given that it was filmed in Chicago.

My intitial thoughts on Chicago are - New York? Shmoo-York. LA? Shmell-A. Chicago is the bitchingest city I've been in yet. It has all the city-cement you could hope for along with the arts culture I crave. Every corner boasts another vintage discovery, every street holds another fine dining experience and for the first time, actual acceptable coffee! But the best thing that Chicago has to offer is Glenn Hendrick.


After two weeks on the road by my lonesom, it's nice to be back in the company of a friend. Glenn lives in Lincoln Square in Chicago, on the edge of the famous Wicker Square. Today we wondered around Wicker Square, which was a bad idea, as the streets offer one vintage store after another vintage store. Sister Dearest's advice to me before I left continues to ring in my ears - "If you see something you like, buy it. You're overseas." And so I continue to acquire an interesting collection of clothing and crafts. However, my favourite discovery today (other than the black pinafore dress I bought) was the community book exchange - what looked like a newspaper dispenser bin but where people could leave and exchange books with each other.

I'm bringing this concept home to Sydney, along with my black pinafore dress.

Ciao for now. xo