My first weeks in Chicago and what to do on your own.

So I've moved into my apartment, found the office and face timed my nearest and dearest, but what else have I been up to. Arriving in Chicago was nothing short of amazing. It truly is a city of impressive and interesting architecture. Sky scrapper after sky scrapper, new and old.

Once the taxi had dropped me off and I had set my bags down, I decided to go out for a walk. My apartment is right in the thick of it in The Loop, which is the business area that is all hustle and bustle in the week, and what I soon learned is dead on the weekends. Its location means that I only have to walk five blocks to Grant park which is huge! I mostly checked out the millennium park which is home to the famous 'cloud gate' or bean and the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. The pavilion is an amphitheater designed by Frank Gehry and a very impressive one at that, with the choir singing it was pretty impressive.

I headed over to Maggie Daley park and then to the edge of Lake Michigan. When you land in Chicago you think you are still over the sea as it is huge, the second largest of the great lakes. I headed north, taking note of the cycle path that ran along the water when my bike arrives this will be utilised as there is a lot more to see along the river. By this point, I was pretty knackered from traveling so headed to find a supermarket.

One downside of living in town is that the supermarkets are far and few between and certainly not cheap. One thing to remember is that Chicago has a 10% sales tax (10.25 to be precise) so this has to be taken into consideration when putting things in your cart. Organic seems to be the bulk of food, which is almost triple the price, however, everything seems to be triple the price. Take a look at the article from Business Insider that gives a good insight into the difference between the UK and the US. Less packaging in the fresh aisle is amazing but decent cheese is extortionate.

After I had spent over $50.00 (0.75p to the dollar) on what felt like not very much, all that I could fit in my backpack, I headed home and prepped for the next day with the items I had brought with me that I spoke about in my previous post. This is when I noticed the trains! I think I may have managed to get the apartment closes to one of the biggest L train junctions. This is a train on rails above ground. It looks awesome but the old infrastructure that is suspended does make a racket. I have gotten much more use to it but at rush hour it is pretty much constant. The loop is definitely to be avoided if you want peace.

The weekend soon approached and the fear set in... what to do on my own. Saturday I went to a yoga class in my building which was free, again the fitness classes are not cheap, and then headed to the magnificent mile, the premier shopping street. To get there from my apartment I headed along the riverwalk, which with the warm weather Chicago has been having, was stunning. You head under the bridges, past restaurants and bars, which will be a must at some point, and up to the street.

The first thing you see is the riverside Apple store. You then make your way down the boulevard worthy of any major city. There are all the major stores you would expect and of course a LUSH which I did pop into and may have purchased two. Little did I know, but found out the following week, that at the end is a beach!

Sunday I took up a colleague recommended to check out the Renegade Craft Fair, which is lots of beautiful Etsy shops. There is even one held in London, check out their website. It was nice to get out of the center and head to wicker park, no tower block insight. I will post more about this in my next post about how I have made my apartment feel like my own (partly with what I brought at the fair). I did get to have my first craft beer and enjoy some pizza. I have also noticed other events happen like the Riot fest and Fulton Market Harvest Fest that I didn't have time to check out but there seems to be a lot going on in Chicago.

The following week was pretty busy at work and other than doing a class in my building I had pretty chilled evenings. The Second weekend the good weather was back and it felt like the last chance to get to the beach. There are many to choose from in the Chicago area but as I wanted to go on foot I headed to the nearest, Oak street beach. Its a nice enough beach which in the summer has a bar/café, however I think it's now a little out of season. It was amazing to be able to relax right in the city reading on the sand. I also dipped my toes into the Lake, I would of usually gone for a swim but wasn’t 100% on leaving my bag unattended. On my way back home I walked through the theatre district which has a number of amazing fronts with beautiful lit up signs.

I headed out to Toronto on the Sunday and since have again had a pretty busy week. Next weekend my Mum and Aunt are visiting so hoping to do some more activities then. My first impression of Chicago is that its a lovely, clean city. I feel safe walking around and everyone is extremely friendly, meaning I haven't felt so alone as people are happy to talk, in shops, taxis and even just in the lift. The trains make sure I never feel alone. It also has extremely good lighting when the sun is out for taking photos.

No doubt I will be adding further post about Chicago and be updating you all on Chicago. For now I'm off to Philadelphia and LA! See you again next week.