So it has now been over a week since I got here and I am literally doing something every day and am slowly catching up with old friends, but also making a few new ones! I left the Junes place to go and stay in the heart of the city with Amanda June. She has this really lovely 1 bedroom flat that is really close to the heart of the city and really close to the “beach” of Lake Michigan. The past owner obviously thought that it was going to be a forever home and put a lot of love and TLC into it! Unique interior decorations and themes that carried through the whole apartment and an awesome kitchen with granite bench tops….no oven, but normal non pastry chefs wouldn’t be bothered by that very much. It was an amazing place to stay.

So in my first entry, we left off on the Monday after I arrived.  It was this day that I met up with an old high school buddy for lunch and a catch up and a giant burger, as well as something called waffle fries. A fry that looks like criss cross fries all connected together. “Why?” is the question that comes to mind. It was a bummer that we only got the catch up once, but two weeks is hard to manage with everyone.

After lunch,  it was time to head into Chicago on the train with Hannah June, who I had also spent the last 3 days with and I have to say that we still get on like a house on fire! It is pretty amazing that I have held on to a friend that lives so far away, and yet we picked up right where we left off. On the monday afternoon, we settled into Amanda’s place and we headed out to hooters for dinner! Yummy. They really do have amazing chicken wings. I have always spoken about hooters fondly (understatement)and was beyond wrapped to go back and be flooded with old memories and many fun times. I even had my going away dinner there before I left in January of 2009. On Tuesday, Hannah headed home to St Louis, back to reality and summer school classes and the next tree days were to be spent hanging out with Amanda, who had three days off. She made me feel so welcome and in the three nights I was there we did so many fun things! I was so appreciative of her spending all of her three days off exploring with me.

On Tuesday, we went to the Shedd Aquarium to have a bit of a wander around and look at the fishies. Unfortunately we got there with an hour before the end of the day and only did the general admission, but it was still beautiful and a great place to wander around. After this we went and got one of Chicago’s signature dishes, Deep Dish Pizza! Very rich and intense to say the least. Food has been a very constant theme on this trip. It seems a lot of my younger buddies don’t have time to cook very often and take out is a regular reality. But with so much food on offer all around, we didn’t go hungry. I will say that I am looking forward to getting to San Francisco and settling into a normal routine for me, which involves cooking almost always, eating a lot healthier, discovering what produce San Francisco has to offer and hopefully finding an inexpensive gym. I am reaching the end of my holiday mode…..lol

Right back to my adventures. Wednesday, we headed out to ride bikes to a place called Vanille Patisserie where I finally got to check out a place that I had been following on FB for ages. It was beautiful and really inspiring! I had the most beautiful fruit tart and Amanda had a pistachio and Pineapple mini gateaux. It was really cool to see what this Chicago patisserie had to offer, as opposed to patisseries at home.  It was great to get back on a bike and it was a great way to see the area. Wednesday was a big day and after the patisserie, we made our way to the Magnificent Mile with another old friend, Missy who I loved seeing again and reconnecting with. She is now based in Colorado, but was down to see family and friends. Maybe I’ll be able to hit her up for a job come winter….you never know.

So we did a bit of shopping on the Mile and stopped for a late lunch. After Amanda got a new pair of Levi Jeans and I got my new haviana thongs, which I had been dying without, it was time to head back to the apartment for a quick sit down and relax before we headed out for sushi and drinks. The sushi that they have here in the city is amazing and I really loved it! It was a sushi bar that also specialised in asian BBQ items, there was also some kangaroo on the menu. A little taste of home.

After dinner we went to the most beautiful roof top bar, a very swanky place. It was at this bar that I got to see some more friends for the first time in six years! This included Jamie (studying occupational therapy), Megan (doing journalism) and Mike K (working at the best restaurant in town, The Girl and the Goat), all people that have since re located to the city. I also met Missy’s new man, a chef from Colorado. We got on very well. Obviously. I had an amazing manhattan made by a person, very fancily called a Mixologist (fancy cocktail maker). I am still not used to my old friends regular drinking, as I hardly ever do, so I am learning to pace myself. Haha.

Thursday was my last day to hang out with Amanda and we lived it up by going to the beach and drinking mojitos and eating awesome tacos. I have to say that the tacos here shit all over most of the tacos that I had at home! The do more soft shell tacos here on authentic corn tortillas and DEAR LORD, they are amazeballs. So we layed out on the beach and tanned….well Amanda tanned and I just went a bit red, like normal for me. This reminded me of a comment once that I got last time I was here. “If your from Australia, why are you so pale??” So I don’t think I’m a true Aussie in most Americans eyes. Hahaha. This stereotype must come from the fact that a lot of their sunscreens and a very famous tanning oil have ‘Australian’ in their titles. Oh well. I am embracing my paleness to the full.

So while staying with Amanda, I had the best time and she forced me to get back on a bike for the first time in forever, and I actually loved it.Hopefully I can keep it up over the span of my trip.  Even though we didn’t do any of the touristy spots, I actually enjoyed what we did a lot better. This trip to Chicago has never been about going to all the tourist spots as I did a lot of it last time I was here. I have appreciated reconnecting with the people I left behind in 2009 and seeing the places they wanted to show me. Perhaps a more authentic Chicago experience anyway.

Im gonna end this blog here. Cause I could go into the next bit, but I have already written a small essay.

xxxx