Snow and adventure, Chicago

Well, my last couple of days here in Chicago, and I've had a great time in this snowy metropolis.

Snowy being an important adjective there. While it hasn't been insanely cold (a couple of degrees below zero), the last couple of days have really brought the snow. Which, I've gotta say, I'm not terribly opposed to - I guess if you lived here, you'd get sick of it pretty quickly, but I still reckon that a layer of snow makes anything look prettier. Negatives: wet shoes + socks --> cold feet, brown slush in the gutter and on the road, having to relearn how to walk so as to avoid slipping on snow/ice-bound sidewalks (Am yet to make an idiot of myself by falling over, but have had several close calls :P).

Something else I've noticed in the course of my walking-around here. I knew already that Chicago had stood in for Gotham City in the most recent Batman movie, but I've been struck by exactly how much of this city was used verbatim - which is great, because I keep seeing pieces of the city that were in Dark Knight, so now the whole city seems like part Chicago, part Gotham ('Hey, that's the street where Dent was kidnapped!' etc.). Fun.

So anyway, yesterday I got up early and hopped the Green Line (still loving these El Trains), and rode out to Oak Park. Oak Park is a fairly typical middle-suburban neighbourhood, made worth a visit by two famous residents. Ernest Hemingway came from Oak Park, and (more to my interest), it was the long-time home of Architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright's home, and something like 36 houses designed in his characteristic Prarie style are in Oak Park, so I took a pleasant walk around the place, with the aid of a map from the Oak Park Visitor's centre (they really play up the Wright connection (The 'Wright Stuff'? :P) in this this town - precisely for people like myself, I guess). Also in Oak Park is the Unity Temple, one of his most famous buildings, an amazing Unitarian Church with all the hallmarks of Wright's style (incredible Art Glass windows, beautiful wooden detailing, amazing light fixtures etc etc).

Yesterday evening, I had an excellent night out with a group from the Hostel - most nights, a Chicago native leads an outing to an interesting destination in the city. Last night Chuck, a volunteer guide who's been giving tours of this town  for 14 years (an appears to know, quite literally -everything- about the place), took us out to the Green Mill Jazz Club. The oldest suc venue in the city, the Green Mill opened in 1899,  and is rich in history. When the area was a silent film hub in the early 20th century, Charlie Chaplin used to visit. Al Capone owned the place in the 20s, and we sat in his customary booth, which faces away from the stage, but has a clear view of both entrances - they still have a photo of Capone behind the bar. Anyway, the coolest thing about the Green Mill is that it takes its music very seriously. Now, I'm no jazz connoisseur, but I was impressed when, before the band was up, the manager asked everyone to turn off their mobile phones and keep quiet during the performance, out of respect for the musicians.

And the musicians were awesome. Three young guys, dressed the part (suits, slicked back hair + thick black-framed glasses), on Guitar (and later a pedal steel guitar), Double Bass and Drums, played and improvised all manner of jazz, and even a little Blues. My highlight of the evening, though, was in their second set, when a new instrument joins in, seemingly out of nowhere. I look around and behind the bar is a big bald guy with dark glasses playing a real Hammond Organ - which I've never heard live before, but just sounds incredible.

So after a very fun night at the Green Mill, I had a somewhat quieter one today - I woke up to a snowstorm, and many people decided to stay inside for the day. After considering a visit to the Art Institute Museum (apparently everyone else had the same idea - too busy), I took a long ride on the Brown Line train, as recommended by one of the visitor information volunteers - when you can't walk around (and in this weather, walking isn't very pleasant for very long), it's a nice way to see some new parts of the city. A visit to the public library on my way back was nice, as was the Cultural Centre (with a Tiffany Glass dome!). This afternoon I'm spending getting things in order for my departure tomorrow. Planning on fulfilling my Chicago culinary goal (Deep Dish Pizza) at dinner this evening.

So, as I've got a long train trip coming up, I won't be able to blog for a couple of days - probably my last entry from here in the US will come from Los Angeles in a few days time.

'til then!

Jono