Chicago by foot, by train, by storm

Toddler newspaper boy - Chicago newsstandYikes, we’re leaving already. (Next week!). On my “TO DO” list was: Get Mateo some summer clothes! I wish he could still wear his sweet clothes from last year but the kid won’t stop growing! Aki needed a few T-shirts as well.

Of course there are clothes in Croatia, but it’s such a bother to HAVE TO  go shopping. As much as I love clothes, I don’t love shopping. I’d rather shop when something strikes my fancy. So I prefer to deal with our list here and leave fun extras for when we’re in Croatia and elsewhere.

                              .  .  .

Errands in general are a little trickier these days because we don’t own a car. What?! Yep, we sold our car a few months ago and have been taking public transport since. Busses and trains are a part of Mateo’s daily vocabulary. We’ll probably get another car when we get back from our trip, but these few months sans wheels have gone surprisingly smooth. We miss it, but we get by. Aki has always taken the train to work (faster, cheaper, and more relaxing than sitting in traffic and then paying $20 to park). I don’t care for driving much, but I was the main driver in the family during the week.

We live in a city (Chicago), so although cars are super convenient, it is possible (even with a young child) to get by without one. Busses, trains, taxis, zipcars, bicycle, rental cars for weekends, FEET. If I have to get somewhere that hovers around two miles, I usually choose to walk it. It’s been nice to do so much more walking. I like walking. When we lived downtown I walked everywhere.mateo-on-mapIt’s been a compromise but worth it. If it was up to Aki, he would have bought another car as soon as we sold the last one. I really wanted us to try it out for a bit though. I know we’ll get another car soon, but it’s been an interesting experiment. I also think it has freed us up a bit and made it possible for us to live/work from Europe for the summer. Imagine if we got rid of our house! just kidding. :)stroller-map-wheelsWe took our TO DO list and had a little shopping adventure this past drizzly Thursday afternoon. First Gap Outlet in the city (eek got some adorable PJs and Mateo’s first tank top, ha) and then decided to take the train downtown to meet Aki after work for dinner. And then Zara!

My boys, My city! <3rainy Chicago - happy toddlertoddler holding hands downtownChicago city walkrain-sidewalk-toddlermateo-pointpuddlebuildingrainy-citystreet-smallMateo loves trains. He loves how the doors open and close, seeing them WHOOSH past in the opposite direction, and well, flirting with passengers. Oh boy.waiting-for-trainpointing-traintrain-doorstrain-gifmateo-feet-trainShopping was a success! If you follow us on Facebook, you already know I made the best shopping purchase of my ENTIRE life. Pretty sure. Oh man, cannot wait to see Mateo’s chubby little thighs on the beach in his new Euro swim trunks! :) Yep, I think we’re SET. Let’s GO already! :)

 

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8 Thoughts on “Chicago by foot, by train, by storm

  1. JaeHi:

    I LOVE the photo of Teo from back…he is SO HAPPY, the world is his oyster, at least Chicago is !

    • hehe, I love that pic of M too! He loves being downtown (tall buildings and elevated trains!) and hanging out with his Tata. :)

  2. kate:

    gorgeous photos! and big smiles. so lovely! i’m glad i stopped by. :D

    • Aww thanks Kate. So glad you did too. By the way, just clicked through to your blog and looks like you have a bit of an adventure on the horizon as well!!! Eeeek! So exciting! :)

  3. I am so impressed that you chose to get by without a car for a while, with a little one! It really is only manageable when you live in the city and there are various forms of semi-reliable transit. And driving isn’t the problem, it’s parking that’s the absolute worst. We lived in SF for 6 years without a car and got by just fine, the only thing is that we really never left the city. Now we live in Oakland and I love my car. And parking is a breeze.

    And those swim trunks are ah-maze-ing. Adorable, I can’t wait to see photos of him in them. :)

    • You know, it’s funny…if I could have one luxury it might be to have a driver (yes, in dreamland). It’s absolutely the PARKING thing. It’s sad but sometimes I feel like I would do more things if I was just driven there and then didn’t have to worry about the paaaarking. :) ha.

      What we do (to get out of the city) is rent a car over the weekend here and there. We have found great deals for $40 for 3 days. Can’t beat that! That way we aren’t stuck! :)

      My brother lives in Oakland by the way! :) He really likes the relaxed and creative vibe.

      And yep…you BET there will be toooonnns of photos coming of Mateo in his swim trunks. ahhaha. :)

  4. I love your cute pictures!

  5. Absolutely stunning blog! Really artistic and engaging. Thanks for sharing your experiences! :)

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