Adios

And finally, my love affair with Chicago came to an end. We both (the City and I!) knew it wouldn't last... But I had six glorious years - of maths and song, drink and food, films and travels - all so good!



At the beginning of our graduate lives, a bunch of us assembled on these stairs for our class picture - and Now We Are Six (grad school years old)!


And on that fine summer's day in June, I Walked. In Maroon. On the Quads. The second picture might well be Jayadev receiving his degree.











And here we are - officially Ph.D.'s!

And so ended the Chicago chapter of my life:Ours, really - for Jayadev and I have been roommates for four and a half years, officemates for five, and classmates for six!

And it was time to say "Hasta la vista, baby!", and fly to the land of the Governator! But I couldn't say goodbye without repeating that immortal Terminator line - "I'll be back." I did check out of Chicago - and came to Hotel California - but really, I could never leave!

And guess what? Tomorrow, I will fly once again, to that same Windy City, to meet friends from school, from college, from grad school - including Jayadev! - and from Chicago!

A tale of one city

And before I say goodbye - how will I remember thee, Chicago? Let me count the ways:

It was the best of times,

it was the worst of times,

it was the age of wisdom,

it was the age of foolishness,

it was the epoch of belief,

it was the epoch of incredulity,

it was the season of Light,it was the season of Darkness,

it was the spring of hope,

it was the winter of despair.

Notes:

1. LakeShore.
2. Yes, this is from my apartment too.
3. Maybe this one is interchanged with the next one?!
4. The Annual Math Department Dinner was on Halloween that year, and I'm the Concrete Donkey from the wonderful computer game "Worms World Party".

5. Devon Avenue - India and Pakistan away from home
6. Baba's 60th - if you've been to my apartment, imagine nine people in all, sleeping in those three rooms.

7. Coming back home from an excellent dinner in the Italian restaurant "Rosebud" - which has the best tiramisu "pastry" that I have ever had, by the way.

8. The same place, same day - but different camera mode.
9. Why's there a mist so close to the water?

10. Note the Yellow Cab on Lake Shore Drive. (Actually, it wasn't the winter of despair; it was my birthday! And the 32nd floor...)

Twelve/Twenty-five

No, it's not nearing half-past-noon, it's the season of holly and snow! And - of course, Christmas shopping (that's Sid in December 2005, my last Christmas in Chicago):











Some of the shops really get pretty - here's Crate and Barrel again, from the Magnificent Mile:
Christmas in Chicago is a very interesting time. The weather is so depressing that the city lights up treetrunks with lights, and the sidewalks with strange objects, to cheer people up. These are also from the Magnificent Mile:
And then there's the customary Giant Christmas Tree. Not exactly the Rockefeller Center with the giant star, but this is in front of the Cheesecake Factory, at the base of the Hancock Tower.
And finally - it's not the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, but hey, 'tis the season to be jolly! And eat lots of Godiva Dark Chocolate. The pictures below are from the Water Tower Place.












Ho ho ho!

Tea and spice, and many things nice

And this is just a miscellany of photos...

Thousands of hot sauces? Try Heaven on Seven!

The Bridges of Chicago County (or City) - also the Bridges of Gotham City in Batman Begins?

And here's some, away from downtown and the Mag-Mile:

The Museum of Science and Industry is an amazing place - there's an actual U-505 Submarine, a train, and you can actually see chicks hatching!


And this is what we did in our spare time (and boy, was there a lot of it!) Welcome to Worms World Party - and feel the point of my rapier, scoundrel!
The Chicago skyline - from the other side (north)!

The Museum of Holography - it's quite low-key to look at - but has fascinating stuff inside.

Tens of Teas - the Bourgeois Pig is a wonderful place to study and sip chai. The very atmosphere is bookish.


And this is how Chicago would look if Monet drew it - or if you have a very shaky photographer. (Taken from the Signature Lounge on top of the Hancock.)



Finally - way North of downtown is a crossroads from where Gandhi goes one way, and Jinnah, the other way. Here's a small snapshot from Devon Avenue! (And I'm not kidding, there really is such an intersection.) All my Indian shopping, haircuts, supplies, and lunch buffets - are thanks to this one street - which attracts Indian families from outside the state, for their shopping! And some of the shops are just like in India.

Nights - lights and sights

So many movies to see - and a dinner after most of them! Most of my time downtown was spent in the evenings and at night - and most of it in the Magnificent Mile, one mile of shops and restaurants and fun stuff on Michigan Avenue. There even was an Apple Store - where we could check out the latest gizmos, and check our email too!



The Chicago Tribune Building is one of the more famous landmarks of the Mile. Even forgetting the fact that its architects were chosen via an international competition, the pieces of buildings on the wall quite literally come from many lands -


tombs in Giza and Agra,
walls in China and Berlin,
national parks in Wyoming and Arizona,
basilicae in Constantinople and the Vatican,
cathedrals in Trondheim and Paris,
castles from Hamlet and the Forbidden City,
halls in Princeton, Harvard, and Yale,
seats of power in London, Moscow, and Washington D.C.

Why, there's even a moonrock on display in the building!





The best view of the city, though, comes from the 96th floor Signature Lounge in the John Hancock Tower. You can see the Lake, the lights, the downtown buildings, and all in all - a wonderful view of Chicago!



And this is where the Mile ended - or started, as you like it - for across the bridge on the Chicago River, is downtown Chicago.

A Grand Day Out

Ok, so this is going to be a really fact-filled, touristy posting.

The tallest building in the world - for quite some time - was the Sears Tower. It is one end of the Chicago skyline, if you just go back to the "July" photo in the "Summer" post. And at the other end (basically) is another building with tall antennae, that we see below.

But first - the second tallest building in Chicago - is the one that you can see in the next picture. It is the Aeon Center, and stands out in the background (and also in the "July" photo in "Summer"). This picture is shot along Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago; the building in the foreground is the place where Swami Vivekananda received a three-minute standing ovation for his immortal opening words - "Sisters and Brothers of America". (The stretch of road in front of it is called "Swami Vivekananda Way"!)


That building is the Art Institute of Chicago - it is world-famous for its many collections, most notably Impressionist paintings (I can remember having seen Monet's Haystacks and Water Lilies). A whole week might not suffice to see its entire collection of art!

The Art Institute is across the road from a wonderful place that is home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. They have had some great concerts - and you can get student tickets for only $10!

Also south of the Chicago river - which shows up in a moment! - is the Public Library:
And then comes the river itself. The first photo below, contains many buildings that might seem familiar from Batman Begins. The middle photo shows the erstwhile home of the Chicago Sun-Times - I first heard of it because of Roger Ebert's movie reviews on imdb. It's demolished now (for a Trump Tower). The clock-tower beside it is of the Wrigley Building - chewing gum, anyone?








And now to move north of the river. Just on the other side are two buildings called the "Corncobs" - and it is not hard to see why! Note that the fifteen lowest floors are reserved almost entirely for parking!










The building on the right is the third tallest building in Chicago. Named after President John Hancock, it houses (a restaurant and) a bar on the ninety-sixth floor called the Signature Lounge (perhaps to do with JH's flamboyant signature on the Declaration of Independence?). Ah, the view from up there at night... Chicago is truly a city of lights! (But that's for the next post!)

But the best part of Chicago is the roaming around. The public transport is just wonderful - and the 'L' has been around for over a century!