Hello and welcome to the blog! It’s a a bit of a work in progress so bare with us. But I thought I would share some photos from our first month living in the big city. Expect more up to date posts in the future. So here we go:
It was such a pain finding an apartment in this city. When we first came up to Chicago searching, we had little knowledge of the various neighborhoods or the street grid system. So most of the days were spent driving around in circles and always being mere miles from our destination yet having no idea how to get there. Without fail, every street we wanted to go down seemed to be a one way going the opposite direction. And the constant four ways stops were making Apryl rather queasy. It didn’t help that once we were shown an apartment, it was either in a bad location or had very little space (or both). In fact, it took two trips to Chicago before we found our apartment. Our new home is a two bedroom in a nice neighborhood (Bucktown). And only a five minute walk to the Western Blue El Stop. Plus, we are only a few blocks away from the interstate. The photo above shows our apartment complex. There are six units in the building and we are on the first floor on the northside.
This is a photo taken a few moments before we started to unload the truck. Notice Eva on her hind legs checking out the neighborhood for the first time.
It might have taken two days to cram full but it took less than four hours to unload everything from the Budget truck into the apartment. On the first night, we did have the bedroom bed set up but that’s about it.
That first week was a bit rough. Nothing seemed to go right. For me, the most frustrating part was having to get around the city. Now, it’s true that the city has good public transportation. But it seemed everytime I had to get something done, I had to jump in the Accord or Corolla. Below is a photo of typical traffic congestion:
And here is my reaction:
I might look calm in the photo but really I’m close to getting out of the car and just walking back to our apartment. Not that I would have been able to find it. On this day, I was literally driving in a circle around our neighborhood. I just couldn’t seem to get out of Lincoln Park! I am too embarrassed to tell you how long I was lost for but I did finally break down and run into a Walgreens for a Chicago street map. It seems I was about a mile and a half away from our apartment.
Even when we decided to have a relaxing dinner we ran into problems. In Memphis, we enjoyed eating Indian food about once a week. One of our favorites was two blocks from Apryl’s apartment. In Chicago, there is an entire Indian district in the West Rogers Park neighborhood. So it seemed like a no brainer for some true authenic Indian food we should venture over to West Rogers and the famous Devon Avenue, home to literally hundreds of Indian resturants. One thing that I wasn’t expecting was a street that was as busy as the Chicago interstate during rush hour!
We chose to eat out at Udupi Palace, which I had read some favorable reviews on Yelp. Well, we weren’t too thrilled about our meal (Apryl’s was too spicy and mine was an odd khorma served green).
You can read my review of the dining experience here.
After leaving the restaurant, we witnessed a car wreck right in front of us! We were happy to get home alive. Still, the neighborhood was fascinating to experience with all those curry smells, Indian families, and late night shopping at jewelry stores.
Another extremely busy street is Clybourn which is where we were able to use several of our wedding gift cards. And while getting around here was another stressful test, there were things like below that just made you smile:
Next week was much better than the first. We even have furniture in the living room:
We even make it out to our first show, M.Ward at the Metro:
Check out the size of the bus hogging the right lane of the street:
That night, M. Ward puts on one of the best performances I’ve seen all year.
Since we were in the neighborhood, I decided to snap a photo of Wrigley Field though we didn’t actually make it to a game this season. Just as well, seeing as the Cubs were having quite an embarrasing season.
We DID however make it to the last home game of the Chicago White Sox. This was a disappointing season for last year’s World Series champions, but the guys did give their fans something to cheer about with a 12-7 victory over Seatle. We even saw a total of nine homeruns including back to back homers and a grand slam! Check out the view from our seats:
And since the Sox are right across the street from Apryl’s school, I guess we’re Sox fans!
What could be more exciting than the Sox game? A trip to Ikea in Schaumburg of course!
This store is four stories of AWE! I could spend the whole day checking out this chain. There is even a food court inside serving the Ikea speciality: Swedish Meatballs. My favorite feature of Ikea, though, is the people/cart esculator. You ride down one side while your cart full of Ikea goodies takes its own route:
Last week, I went alone to see “post rock” pioneers Tortoise play their only show in the States this year. I took the bus (the first time for me in Chicago) which was an easy trek down Western Ave to the infamous Empty Bottle club. Here is the line outside:
While standing in line, I noticed a little bit of home sticking to the glass window:
I was thrilled to catch this show, especially after finding out that it was sold out. I might write a review of this show (on Loconotion) but right now, I’ll just say that I couldn’t get this performance out of my head for days!
(more to follow…)
it’s awesome to hear from you kids. sounds like things are starting to come together. So, how about that latest M. Ward album? Wow. And shame on you for turning your back on the Cubbies.
You’re coming back next weekend right?
Comment by safeguy — October 10, 2006 @ 9:06 am
An Apryl & Hayden blog… yeah!!!
Comment by summer — October 10, 2006 @ 9:14 am
I don’t know if I’ve turned my back on the Cubs. The Cubbies were always the team you watched on tv because it felt wrong if you didn’t! Even in Memphis, the childhood summer didn’t seem complete without daytime Cubs games on WGN. You know, the Harry Caray days. The Cubs never won but that never seemed to matter. Of course, back then I was a Braves kid. My childhood hero was Dale Murphy which gives you a fair idea of the years when I was a Braves fan (or baseball fan for that matter). In those days, the Braves were horrible. Always seemed to blow the game in the 9th inning. And right after you devoted all this time to them. And no matter how often it happened, you always went into the next game thinking “maybe this time they can pull it off”. Nope. Well, it might have happened once and that gave you enough momentum to carry you through until the next disappointment. I actually attended several games during this period. I remember this one time my mom and I snuck into an elevator that let off right outside the exit door of the player’s locker room. While we waited for Murphy to come out, my mom started up a conversation with a woman next to her who was carrying at least five plates of food. The two of them were talking for awhile until finally the woman admitted that she was Murphy’s wife and was waiting for him to give him his dinner! So that’s how I got to meet my childhood hero. I started to lose interest in baseball right after Murphy left the game. And of course, the next year the Braves were in the World Series (I remember watching the last game in a bar with my dad in downtown Memphis). Now, the only thing about baseball that excites me is the playoffs.
And yes, we are coming in next weekend though I might be in Mississippi with family on Saturday night. But Apryl will be in Memphis.
Have you listened to the new M. Ward album? I couldn’t tell if you were asking about it or commenting on how good it is – which you should because it’s one of Ward’s best releases so far. And this from a man who keeps on putting out amazing record after amazing record. No dud in the bunch is what I’m getting at here.
And hello Summer!
– Thanks for visiting the blog. I should stress that it isn’t complete yet. So it’s a bit embarrassing looking at the moment. But I just couldn’t wait to say “hello”.
Comment by Hayden — October 10, 2006 @ 11:57 am
Hayden!
Everybody breaks down and buys a map. It’s a smart thing to do!
Getting set up is such a pain, isn’t it? And moving to the big city is intimidating–I remember driving into the city on Lake Shore Drive wih Guy in the passenger seat and all our worldly possessions in the back. The weather was grim that day, and the skyline looked nightmarish. I wanted to turn around and head back to Memphis.
It will get easier, of course. You’ll find some hangouts and restaurants that are a good fit. I remember finding some on the Chicago portion of the chowhound site (chowhound.com??), so give that a look when you have a chance. There are some great places on Devon, but unfortunately I can’t remember any names. Give it another try.
Right now I wish I could have a falafel from Sultan’s Market in Wicker park! It’s perfect just after a bit of shopping at Quimby’s, Reckless and Myopic. And some of the best bread and pastries in the city can be found at Red Hen Bakery. All these places are within a ten minute walk, all centered around the Damen Blue line stop.
Hey, there’s a great breakfast place right next to the empty bottle, too.
I’ll tell you about more places as I remember them.
Take care and keep us updated on your progress.
Comment by Trey — October 10, 2006 @ 9:22 pm
Thanks for visiting the site Trey!
Yes, Sultan’s Market is very good and cheap which is a winning combination! I still haven’t visited Reckless since we’ve moved here in fear of it getting out of hand (though I have been there before and loved it). There is a little restaurant next to the Empty Bottle called Bite that we checked out after it was recommended to us by our landlord. He called it “a hole in the wall”. It was good but was not a “hole in the wall”. No, a term like that is reserved for such gems as the Lamplighter back home. My favorite breakfast spot so far is Toast which is a few blocks from our apartment. We’ll have to check out Red Hen soon.
Comment by Hayden — October 10, 2006 @ 10:19 pm
Just remembered another good breakfast joint–Cold comfort, on North I think. It has a nice deli feel to it, and the omelets are understated (for Chicago–this is a very good thing in a land where omelets can feed five people) and tasty.
If you visit Chinatown–and you should–check out “little” Three Happiness restaurant. There’s a “big” Three Happiness across the street from it, which you should avoid. You’ll see the big one first as you exit the el station. Cross the street to the little one, which really is a hole in the wall and is almost always packed with Chinatown locals. It’s worth the wait.
Comment by Trey — October 10, 2006 @ 10:42 pm
Hey Hayden. Been a long time. How’s it going? Looks like you’re doing pretty well. Just thought I’d let you know I followed you over here from the WEVL blog. Any word on Shotgun Stories? You should definitely keep up the album of the week routine if you weren’t already planning to. Take care buddy.
Comment by Neil Rahilly — October 11, 2006 @ 6:56 pm
Great to hear from you Neil! The last that I’ve heard about Shotgun Stories was that there was a test screening in Little Rock. I found this article about the screening which took place this summer. I’ll try to continue with some sort of album of the week feature.
Comment by Hayden — October 11, 2006 @ 8:07 pm
h&a – it is great to see the blog. i’ve been wondering how you are faring in the city. your post about getting lost is hilarious…i hope you guys are settling in & enjoying your new surroundings…Eva looks like she enjoys the view…Post some more pics of your apt! BTW, if you guys can make it down to OB, you need to come see Joe….ttyl
b
Comment by Brian — October 12, 2006 @ 8:30 am