Getting to the start (Part 3)

Spent the day being a slightly more normal tourist; after taking a shower to rid myself of the pervasive locker-room smell of the room last night, I left my bike at the hostel for the day.

I got a day pass for the train and wanted to walk through some of the neighborhoods I was riding through yesterday, so I took the Red line a little past Wrigley Field.

Although not having the bike freed me up to go places, the bag I had with me is actually very uncomfortable to carry by hand or with the shoulder strap, so I ended up cutting short my first stop of Graceland Cemetery. Seems like a nice space, though.

I had lunch at a lovely little Thai place called Tac Quick, zigzagged to a lovely little bubble tea place called Tulip’s Tea. I sat there for a bit, then walked down Halsted Street past all the bars, but I didn’t actually feel like going to a bar. If I were staying another night, I would catch the beginning of Market Days, a weekend-long festival in the neighborhood. Instead I cut across to Wrigley Field and took a train back to the Loop.

I lay down on the grass in Maggie Daley park for a couple hours. It was fairly warm, but in the shade with breeze it was bearable.

Dinner was at Pizano’s Pizza on Madison St, since it would be a shame to be in Chicago for three days and not have pizza. I was able to sit at the bar without a wait, and ordered a pint, a shot of Malört, and an individual deep-dish pizza. Malört was not nearly as intense as I’d been led to believe. The pizza was pretty good.

I stopped into H Mart to get snacks for the train, then picked up my bike and headed to the station. I got there very early but I didn’t feel like doing much more in the city, so I sat around until they started boarding. The train car is completely full. I don’t anticipate being able to sleep; I’ve never been able to on planes.

Next stop,

(finally)

Route Map

None for today

Gallery