Weekly Musings

2018 - Week Twenty Eight

'If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine, it is lethal.'

(Paul Coelho)

The start of this week was SO hectic. With Aum off school for the summer holidays I am working all day, I am living at my parents whilst I renovate the new house, and I had to pack for my 3.5 week trip to America whilst my worldly possessions are dotted around in various locations in boxes and suitcases. 



Now I realise how most of these are very much first world problems. I am lucky that 'full time employment' is usually less than 20 hours a week with a free annual transatlantic summer holiday, and that my parents pad has space for me to live in rent free; but when there are six adults and two dogs in the house all making noise, I have Aum and his three mates in the car arguing over who gets the iPad or I realise once I get back to Mum's that I have left the one thing I need to pack at the new house in Stockport twenty minutes drive away, you can forgive me if I want to scream. My track of the week above helped to calm me down at various points of meltdown.

To help take me back to my happy place I had my nails done on Tuesday, and on Wednesday I turned to one thing that aides many of life's problems, mac and cheese. This particular variety (with mozzerella and gruyere) was from The Little Deli Company in Hale, and even a connoisseur of the delicacy such as myself couldn't finish the huge portion. I took Aum and his friend there for lunch before letting them run amok (read: nicely play) in Stamford Park.

On Thursday, albeit feeling very unprepared, I trundled along to Manchester Airport for mine and Aum's trip to Chicago. Once I had waved our cases off on the conveyor belt and we were chilling in Costa with a coffee and muffin I could finally begin to get excited, as the moving and packing stress had suppressed the feeling up until then. It was a pleasant journey, I watched A Wrinkle in Time and Gemini which were both excellent - Zoe Kravitz is my current girl crush - and we had mac and cheese and veggie curry pasties as the 'dreaded' plane food. I've actually always really liked meals on planes, and I find the vegetarian options are so much better than the meat versions nowadays.  

We were tired by the time we reached the apartment we are staying in in the Wicker Park neighbourhood, so I didn't fully take in my surroundings initially. It is gorgeously decorated, modern but with some cute country style touches (including a picture perfect wooden verandah with a rocking chair) and although jet lag woke me up fairly early on Friday, the bed was so comfy I lounged with a coffee in it until mid morning before getting ready to go out. We walked onto the main street just around the corner and went to Kanela Breakfast Club for food, which I had found on Trip Advisor. The menu was incredible! I had the lemon blueberry pancakes with honey butter, and Aum chose their signature French toast (challah bread with lemon creme fraiche and apricot jam) with a side of bacon.

The next item on the agenda was tackling the 'L', Chicago's metro system. After a while deciphering the machines, we purchased the equivalent of an Oyster card and hopped on a tram into the centre for a wander around. It is such a vibrant city! We spent a couple of hours soaking up the atmosphere and sunshine, ending with a walk to Navy Pier which has shops, restaurants and a beautiful botanical style garden inside, and a fairground on the pier with fab views across Lake Michigan. We then headed back to our digs for some downtime before going out for tea, as the time difference was starting to have an impact.

We decided to stay local for food that evening at a Mexican place called Antique Taco, a fastfood/ restaurant hybrid a bit like Nandos. Wicker Park where we are staying is definitely the hipster area of Chicago; full of vintage shops, vinyl stores and real ale joints, it is a Northern Quarterer's dream. Antique Taco was relaxed but had a good buzz for a Friday evening, and the crab and shrimp flautas (flute shaped deep fried tortillas with filling) were divine. I also gave a rosemary margarita a try, but it was a bit too floral for my taste if i'm honest, I'll stick to the classic!

Yesterday was another jam packed day. We had brekkie at home and then headed to an Irish bar called Fado to watch the England match before grabbing some Stan's Donuts (dear LORD they are the best!) to keep us going. Then we caught the L and took a trip 103 floors up to the Skydeck of Willis Tower. I don't have an issue with heights normally, but standing on a transparent glass floor 1,353 feet up made me feel slightly sick, so I didn't spend too long on there. The views of the city, lake and skyline were worth a few moments of queasiness though, and Aum took delight in teasing me for the rest of the day. We picked up a traditional Chicago deep dish pizza from Lou Malnati's on the walk home to share whilst getting ready, as we had booked onto an architecture cruise for that night.

The cruise started at 9pm, and lasted for 90 minutes travelling along the river. The whole city was lit up against the sky, and we got hot chocolates and listened to the tour guide tell us all about the history of the place and its buildings, ending in a spectacular firework display at the mouth of Lake Michigan. It was like being on a school trip, but a bloody cool one!

 Today is the day Aum started his summer camp, Summer Institute for the Gifted (SIG) at Chicago University. It is held at different academic institutes all across the US every year, and this is the fifth year he has attended, but the first time where he will be staying there as a residential student. It is not for everyone, being so far away from home, but he has always been a hugely independent kid, and loves the chance to mix with other people from around the world. It certainly helps me out, as entertaining an only child for two months each summer gets increasingly difficult the older he gets (he is now eleven). I helped him to unpack and then left him to it; he wasn't even arsed about me leaving, so I am now tucked up with wine and caramel M&Ms catching up with Love Island!