Last weekend was Chicago’s Air & Water Show—the most visited Chicago event of the year. Having been before, I wasn’t upset to only catch the finale before battling crowds to walk North along the lakefront.
This weekend Chicago was filled with Lollapalooza revelers from around the world. The first year I attended the new version of the festival in Grant Park it was a manageable size and seemed to draw mostly local music fans. I haven’t gone to the festival in a few years (too big, too hot, too expensive),…
I’ve spent plenty of time in Oak Park, Illinois and still have family there. Even so, I’ve never visited any of the Frank Lloyd Wright sights growing up. When a friend mentioned biking there I decided to tag along—two is better than one when riding through the rough neighborhoods separating Chicago from Oak Park. Before…
My bike is not that common. Over the two years I’ve owned it I have only seen one other like it in Chicago. That’s why I was so surprised when I walked out of a shop to see another Garry Fisher Simple City 8 cross frame locked next to mine. I left a happy note,…
I know it’s summertime in Chicago when I see Oberon on tap. This week I went to the opening of the Chicago Design Museum, watched Breakfast Club on the rooftop of Whole Foods while sampling New Belgium beers and attended a lecture by Debbie Millman… and it’s only Wednesday.
Last week was a time of travel firsts for me—the first time I’ve flown to another city and back in one day, and the first time I’ve had a flight cancelled. Our entire plane had to be re-ticketed on the flight back from St. Louis when the plane was grounded due to a mechanical problem.…
Tonight was the monthly Critical Lass ride in Chicago. It wasn’t too cold and we rode a really interesting route from Ukrainian Village through West Town’s manufacturing district to Humbolt Park. Bicycling in industrial areas on the west side is fun because you happen upon unexpected factories and incredible views of the Chicago skyline through…
I was already having a pretty good day, but it was made even better when I walked up to my bike and found a valentine in my basket. On my ride home I saw the women leaving valentines on bicycles all the way up Milwaukee Avenue. Happy valentines day, ladies!
Thiruvananthapuram, India | 30 January, 2007 | $9.04 I’m not sure why this hotel was so expensive, perhaps because Thiruvananthapuram is the capital of Kerala? The town has some nice colonial architecture and grand universities to wander around. With a whole day to wander around I ran errands (like buying soap) and getting passport photos…
Madurai, India | 28 January, 2007 | $4.52 Madurai was fascinating! This was my first real taste of the chaos and jumbled, statue-covered temples of Tamil Nadu. After seven hours on the bus I was ready to get a look at the temple. Meenakshi Sundareswar Temple is like nothing I had ever seen before. In…
Kanyakumari, India | 27 January, 2007 | $5.65 Finally, I made it to the end—the Southern tip of India. After leaving Kerala, and certainly after leaving Varkala Beach, I encountered few Western tourists. Southern India has a vastly different feel than the North and I hope everyone traveling to India has time to experience both.…
Varkala Beach, India | 25 January, 2007 | $5.65 Another three nights on the beach, still recovering from India before diving back into the big cities. Varkala is really interesting because the town, hotels and restaurants sit atop a high cliff, and visiting the beach requires climbing down the cliff. Aside from a few chair…
Alleppey, India | 23 January, 2007 | $6.77 Alleppey was really just a one night stopover on my way South, but I stumbled upon some interesting sights. While walking on the edge of town after a self-made tour of the colonial canals running through town, I saw a large field of military or police officers…
Kochi, India | 22 January, 2007 | $6.77 Heading further South along India’s West coast, Fort Kochin and Kochi are solidly in the Kerala region. I attended a Kathakali performance put on for tourists which has been shortened for the Western attention span. Coming to the theater early is a special treat, because you can…
Palolem – Kochi, India | 20 January, 2007 | $9.21 (sleeper train) This train must have been pretty unremarkable since I didn’t bother to record how long the trip took. Perhaps after four nights on the beach I was too relaxed (or antsy) to care.
Palolem Beach, India | 18 January, 2007 | $5.64 How cute, my own little cabin on stilts! The markets around the beach in Goa cater to the want-to-be hippie crowd, full of sarongs, toe rings and patchwork bags. It’s fun to look at first, until you start to realize it’s the same mass-produced skirts and…
Panaji, Old Goa, India | 15 January, 2007 | $5.64 I arrived in Old Goa during daylight hours and found another tourist to share a rickshaw from the train station. The driver was happy to take us to a hotel, but when we got out he asked for an astronomical amount for the ride. I…
Mumbai, India | 12 January, 2007 | $11.24 My last two nights in Mumbai were spent in a tiny, overpriced cinder block hotel room. I had grown accustomed to my own bathroom in India, even in rooms half this price. Mumbai was different. More photos of Mumbai can be seen in the gallery.
Mumbai, India | 9 January, 2007 | $20.56 Last year I fell behind on my “Where I Slept” series and jumped from Aurangabad, India to Ethiopia, leaving out January through March. Here’s where I fill in the blanks. This hotel room was the cleanest I stayed at in India and one of the most difficult…
On the way home from celebrating the other night I walked past this sign at my L station. It’s a nice message to start 2012 with. Happy New Year folks!