Introductions

[kake]

Hello flaneurs! I thought we could start off this community by finding out a bit about each other and our interests. I don't have any fixed ideas about how I want the community to be used, and am happy to let it evolve in response to its members' desires.

So, if you feel so inclined, please leave a comment below! Here are some suggestions for you to copy/paste and fill in, but these are all optional — feel free to use just the ones you want to answer, or even to forget about them entirely and write something freeform.

<strong>My preferred name (if it's different from my username):</strong> <strong>My last urban ramble/adventure was:</strong> <strong>My next urban ramble/adventure will probably be:</strong> <strong>Favourite type(s) of urban environment:</strong> <strong>Favourite type(s) of constraint (for those who like putting constraints on their rambles):</strong> <strong>Cities/towns I've explored (and how):</strong> <strong>Cities/towns I want to explore (and why):</strong> <strong>Three things I tend to notice when I'm wandering through a city:</strong> <strong>Anything else relevant:</strong>

Comments

[nanila]

My preferred name (if it's different from my username): My username is fine. Should probably be pronounce Nah-NEE-lah rather than rhyming with vanilla.
My last urban ramble/adventure was: A trip to Vienna, Austria last month.
My next urban ramble/adventure will probably be: Next Saturday, 14 May, the Cockfosters to Enfield section of the London Loop.
Favourite type(s) of urban environment: Places where natural & manmade structures meet unexpectedly.
Favourite type(s) of constraint (for those who like putting constraints on their rambles): I like to have at least a rough idea of the distance and route I'll be taking.
Cities/towns I've explored (and how): London, Cambridge, Paris, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Carcassonne, Barcelona, Cologne, Berlin, Dublin, Derry, Edinburgh, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Chicago. Modes of transportation in order of preference & frequency of use: on foot, by bus and by train.
Cities/towns I want to explore (and why): All of them. A few strong contenders: Belfast, Krakow, St Petersburg, Istanbul, Marrakesh, Singapore, Manila.
Three things I tend to notice when I'm wandering through a city: Graffiti, cemeteries, dive bars.

[kake]

Ah, I forgot to mention my Cambridge explorations! I stayed with juggzy for a few days last September and had a nice trawl around the city visiting Good Beer Guide pubs and so on.

I also still need to get around to organising the Citi 1 bus route pub crawl (I have a Google map with a rough draft of possible stops).

[nanila]

Ooh, count me in on the Citi 1 pub crawl! I'm fond of the Pickerel and the Flying Pig - mostly, I admit, because I have good memories associated with both those pubs and not because their ale is exceptional. :)

[kake]

My last urban ramble/adventure was: not really precisely urban. ewan and I walked over fields and through woods from Harefield, a village near the border of Greater London, to Ruislip Manor Station, a zone 6 Tube station on the Metropolitan Line.

The reason I'm counting this as an urban adventure is that it was part of my A-Z walk project, in which I'm walking across every page of the London A-Z, keeping a continuous line throughout. Here are some posts about previous walks, and here is the route so far plotted on Google Maps. I hope to complete the project by my 40th birthday, which is in July 2015.

My next urban ramble/adventure will probably be: in southwest London. I help run a website about London, and am currently working through the backlog of pages we need photos for. Since we've already done the ones that clump together geographically (and hence can be picked off easily), I'm working through the list in alphabetical order. So on Thursday I'll be visiting things that need photographing in the general vicinity of the Admiral Nelson in Whitton. I have never been to Whitton and am excited to see what I might find!

Favourite type(s) of urban environment: I have to be boring here and say that I like the parts of the city where there are plenty of places to sit down and have a rest when I need one.

Favourite type(s) of constraint (for those who like putting constraints on their rambles): See above! I'm very excited about having finally got out of Harefield and so being able to do more A-Z walks (I was stuck there for 2 years, for various reasons).

Cities/towns I've explored (and how): London (in multiple ways). Glasgow — I was there last year and did a walk along the subway network (above ground, not along the tunnels!) — here are some photos.

Cities/towns I want to explore (and why): Leeds, because I promised a friend that I would, and because there are waterways to walk along. Other than that, I am open to suggestions! I'm afraid I tend to think "oh, I haven't finished London yet" when I think about going to other places...

Three things I tend to notice when I'm wandering through a city: Pubs (not just because I like beer — I think pubs can tell you a lot about the type of area you're in). Brightly coloured things. Interesting/unusual fonts on street signs.

[bob]

My last urban ramble/adventure was: kingsbury to harrow-on-the-hill
Favourite type(s) of urban environment: Interestign Industrial
Cities/towns I've explored (and how): Barcelona - Foot, Vienna - foot, bus, tram. London - many forms of transport
Three things I tend to notice when I'm wandering through a city: Space Invaders, Pubs and Restaurants

[kake]

Three things I tend to notice when I'm wandering through a city: Space Invaders [...]

I see you have found them in multiple cities, too!

[bob]

indeed.

[jodi]

I saw quite a few in Bilbao, so I suppose I tend to notice them too.

[rydra_wong]

My last urban ramble/adventure was: An epic hike from the climbing wall I climb at (near London Bridge, in one of the beautiful railway arches) to my home (Bayswater), via many interesting museums and parks.
My next urban ramble/adventure will probably be: Impromptu. I am very prone to "... I wonder if I can walk there from here?"
Favourite type(s) of urban environment: Ones that can be reached on the London Underground. Or escaped from on the London Underground, if it turns out I can't walk all the way there from here.
Favourite type(s) of constraint (for those who like putting constraints on their rambles): Mostly it's "start point" and "end point". Occasionally, it's "... I wonder if I can find my way there without a map?"
Cities/towns I've explored (and how): London, on foot. London, by Tube. London, swimming. If I get braver, I want to get some buildering in ...
Cities/towns I want to explore (and why): London, more. I have to feel very confident that I've got my bearings in a city before I'm willing to risk losing them completely. *g* And there's an awful lot of London to explore.
Three things I tend to notice when I'm wandering through a city: Bookshops, especially second-hand ones (I have difficulty passing them). Things that could, potentially, be climbed (climbing does terrible things for the way you look at architecture, not to mention statues and monuments). Unexpected rivers and waterways, cats, foxes, and other urban nature (see: common_nature).
Anything else relevant: I'm very fond of obscure, "secret" museums. Favourites: the Petrie and the Hunterian.

[kake]

I saw your post on swimming and thought it was great!

My next urban ramble/adventure will probably be: Impromptu. I am very prone to "... I wonder if I can walk there from here?"

I used to do this a lot, but I've fallen into the habit of doing much more planning. I think this is partly because I discovered that I enjoy the planning part too, but also because the tools are much better now. I have several Google maps with interesting things like museums and bookshops and vegetarian restaurants plotted on them, and so if I have a vague idea of where I want to adventure, it's quite easy to work out which things in the neighbourhood I might want to go and check out. Maybe I have fallen into a rut, though... perhaps I should challenge myself to spend a month only doing unplanned adventures!

[azuire]

My last urban ramble/adventure was: London, last week.
My next urban ramble/adventure will probably be: Edinburgh, currently exploring, and this is my first attempt to film it.
Favourite type(s) of urban environment: One that can be walked to or reached by public transport.
Favourite type(s) of constraint (for those who like putting constraints on their rambles): Quite erratic. Sometimes I walk out of the house and go on instinct, other times I throw darts at a board, sometimes I pick two streets that are alphabetically consecutive and chart a route, sometimes I wander in geometric shapes, spell out words, anything, really.
Cities/towns I've explored (and how): Too many to list here, in many countries, and mostly on foot.
Cities/towns I want to explore (and why): Anywhere as long as it's made for walking.
Three things I tend to notice when I'm wandering through a city: Bookstores, museums, particular architecture, pub names, cafes, statues, markings on the road, faded paint, etc. I also can't count, this is a failing of mine.
Anything else relevant: I have an excellent sense of direction. I will end up at my destination, it's only a matter of how long it takes me.

[kake]

A fellow constraint-lover! I think I'm going to borrow the alphabetically consecutive one! How does the dart one work? Are you throwing the darts at a map?

[azuire]

I have loads others that I can't remember offhand, but I will look up once I get my act together. Feel free to hitchhike off the idea and invent your own constraints. They are the best way to find things.

re: darts, I have a map of both city and country at home, and throw sticky tack at them because I don't want to damage my maps. When on the computer I bring up Google maps and keysmash into it, so it can say 'did you mean X' etc. Good fun!

[kake]

Maybe we should have a "constraint challenge" in the community some time... it would be interesting to see how the same constraint works out in different cities.

[azuire]

Excellent idea! There could be constraint-brainstorming as well, coming up with different ways to explore a city and maybe photographing/filming our routes.

[staranise]

My preferred name (if it's different from my username): Lis
My last urban ramble/adventure was: I live in my city's university area, on a street that for a ten-block stretch is my city's arts and culture centre (Whyte Ave, Edmonton). I spend afternoons and evenings roaming it.
My next urban ramble/adventure will probably be: Probably more close to home.
Favourite type(s) of urban environment: Relatively dense buildings built before WWII with unusual layouts, shops in non-obvious closes, and secrets and surprises.
Favourite type(s) of constraint (for those who like putting constraints on their rambles): GOD NO. I'm just coming off four years where walking two blocks made me whimper in pain. I plan to do whatever I'm physically able.
Cities/towns I've explored (and how): On foot: Boston MA (Back Bay area), Edmonton, Nanton and Banff AB, Vancouver and Victoria BC. By getting lost on the way to a destination: Washington, DC. By driving: Spokane, WA.
Cities/towns I want to explore (and why): Small towns in my province, which are almost all independent businesses owned and operated by one person. I love seeing all the different things people spend their labour on; people who dedicate their lives to making a good coffee shop or selling silk flowers in a town of 2,000 people are fascinating to me.
Three things I tend to notice when I'm wandering through a city: Statues and murals; fabric or fiber shops; old buildings.
Anything else relevant: I really love driving. It was my default mode of transit and exploration for years and my car is basically my biggest expense after rent. I love country travel and distance driving as much as city rambles.

[kake]

Oh, yes, I love seeking out independent businesses too! There are some parts of my city (London) that are almost entirely independents, and there are others that are almost entirely chains — I find the latter somewhat depressing.

[foxfinial]

My preferred name: Alex

My last urban ramble/adventure was: Barcelona, last weekend

My next urban ramble/adventure will probably be: Hmm. I'm going to Oxford in a couple weekends' time, but I expect most of that time will be spent gazing lovingly at the Herakles to Alexander exhibit at the Ashmolea, so that's more of a museum-ramble.

Favourite type(s) of urban environment: I love markets, unusual architecture,old architecture, places where religion meets urban life, parks (I'm a country girl at heart)... lots, really!

Cities/towns I've explored (and how): London and Brighton (among other UK places), Prague, Athens, Istanbul, Venice, Barcelona, New York, Denver, Ottawa, Singapore, Perth (WA), Broome, Darwin, Alice Springs, Coober Pedy, Melbourne, Sydney, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Vientiane, Luang Prabang, a lot of places on the Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City route, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Kuala Lumpar, Manila, Baguio, Ulaanbaator, Beijing, Xian, Jiayuguan, Dunhuang, Turfan, Urumqi, Kashgar, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer. I walk a lot. When that's not possible, I'll take the most useful public transport.

Cities/towns I want to explore (and why): This would be a long list. Ones hovering around the top of that list are St Petersburg, San Francisco, Rome, Alexandria, Edinburgh, Lhasa, as well as a bunch of ancient ruins (Persepolis, Merv...).

Three things I tend to notice when I'm wandering through a city: Old buildings, curious shops, just some of the city's minor details.

Anything else relevant: My heart belongs in equal parts to cities and countryside. I think the most beautiful place I have been was Mongolia, yet I love throwing myself at a new city.

[kake]

Gosh, you've been to a lot of places! Do you think there's a common thread between the cities you've liked the most?

[foxfinial]

I was able to take time out and travel last year, hence the Australian and most of the Asian cities. =)

Do you think there's a common thread between the cities you've liked the most?

Hmm. It's hard to say, beyond the generic 'interesting' - I like old architecture, but I can love a city without it; I like markets, but I can love a city with uninteresting markets; I like some mostly because I had wonderful experiences there, like Ulaanbaator. Cities are such different creatures, I don't think I can pin down one consistent trend.

How about you?

[kake]

I think for me it's probably public transport! I was excited about going to Glasgow last year (and in fact went up the day before I needed to be there) because of its subway system. I should probably write a post about the subway walk I did there.

I would like to visit Singapore one day and explore along the routes of the MRT. I nearly went to Rome a while back (though didn't make it in the end) and was equally excited by the idea of exploring the Metropolitana di Roma.

Oh, and I'm moving house to Croydon soon, where there are TRAMS, which makes me very happy.

[axelrod]

Call me G. Or George. Pronoun is "they", not that it's accurate but it's better than conventionally feminine or conventionally masculine pronouns.

I like walking, and I like walking in a place where there are things to see. And cities are interesting, you know? I'm particularly interested in spotting urban farming, scouting for good vacant lots - I'm interested in greening cities, sustainable practices generally. I live in Philly and Rittenhouse Square is one of my favorite places, because of the people watching.

I like seeing where the unwritten boundaries are between neighborhoods, and what changes (well, sometimes the changes are depressing - poor neighborhoods tend not to have trees around here), and where I fit in and where I don't, and who's using public spaces and how well-kept those spaces are.

I keep an eye out for useful, light-weight items I can salvage. I like architecture. I fucking love crossing bridges in the middle of cities (Boston is excellent for that). I like exploring spaces most people don't notice - alleys, overlooked lots - though I do that with trepidation, always feel like I'm about to get in trouble or something.

I love wandering around new cities (not "getting lost" - actually getting lost sucks; I always carry a street map). I've wandered around NYC, London, Rome, Brugge, Amsterdam, Boston, Leiden, Brussels, Prague, Jerusalem. I'd like to explore more cities in the US, and in other parts of the Americas. I'm dying to go back to London.

I also like hiking up mountains (small ones, like, Appalachian-height), though haven't done that in ages. Hate camping, though.

[kake]

Re urban farming, I am quite intrigued by this farm-in-a-shop thing in Dalston, North London. Haven't had a chance to check it out yet, though.

London is pretty good at having green stuff even in poorer neighbourhoods, in my experience. I think the main differences I notice here are the presence of dog crap and litter on the streets — the contrast between, say, Lewisham town centre and Chelsea is quite astounding in that respect.

[ewan]

Hello flaneurs!

My preferred name (if it's different from my username): It is in fact the same as my username.
My last urban ramble/adventure was: It was effectively the same as Kake's (above), Harefield to Ruislip, mostly non-urban to be fair. I tried to do a jaunt around Rotherhithe at the weekend but transport was against me.
My next urban ramble/adventure will probably be: I have the day off work on Wednesday, so I just need to pick somewhere to go. I'm not entirely sure. Maybe South-West London.
Favourite type(s) of urban environment: Well, as you know, I like London quite a lot. I am not entirely sure, but I think it's from being confident about the geography and, more importantly, interested in the local histories. When I can connect a place with a history and with people in that history, then it becomes richer for me; I have no idea why London is especially interesting to me (moreso than any other place I've lived), but it may just be the variety of different settlements which are linked together: there's more to explore.
Favourite type(s) of constraint (for those who like putting constraints on their rambles): I tend to base my rambles around my researches into pubs, as I have a blog (slightly dormant) on this subject.
Cities/towns I've explored (and how): Most of my exploring is by foot, because it helps in constructing mental maps, but my main interest (as mentioned above) remains London. I've certainly walked around other cities I've visited (Athens, Auckland, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Christchurch, Copenhagen, Cordoba, Dunedin, Frankfurt, Geneva, Glasgow, Heidelberg, Hull, Krakow, Madrid, New York, Paris, Portland OR, Prague, Rome, San Francisco, Seattle, Stockholm, Sydney, Vancouver, Vienna) and cities I've lived in (Edinburgh, Wellington) for pleasure and interest, but not as determinedly.
Cities/towns I want to explore (and why): It would be nice to visit some cities that aren't in Europe/USA, though I also want to see more of the States too...
Three things I tend to notice when I'm wandering through a city: Pubs obviously in London, and shopfronts, but also interesting architecture, especially dilapidated, ruined or otherwise abandoned buildings.

[kake]

I tend to base my rambles around my researches into pubs, as I have a blog (slightly dormant) on this subject.

I am going to put a link here to your blog, Pubology, because it is brilliant. And I'm not just saying that because I'm your friend!

[ewan]

Also not updated for too long! I got distracted by trying to put my pub research data on it, but I think I need a different site for that (preferably one I can do tables on easily without getting confused by html coding)...

[oursin]

My last urban ramble/adventure was: Depending on whether you count the family excursion to Margate on the May Bank Holiday Weekend, or partner and myself going to Ally Pally and walking down the Nature Trail to Highgate the previous weekend.
My next urban ramble/adventure will probably be: Couldn't really predict - may not happen until I'm in Madison for Wiscon, but a smallscale ramble around Bloomsbury or elsewhere in London is not outwith possibility.
Favourite type(s) of urban environment: Have water somewhere - sea, river, lake, canals, ponds, fountains, cascades; and unexpected juxtapositions.
Favourite ways to explore urban environment: On foot, by bus (but how few cities have doubledeckers to sit on the top of, which is perhaps the ne plus ultra for leisurely urban travel), and by water
Favourite type(s) of constraint (for those who like putting constraints on their rambles): I quite like the purposive ramble a la Virginia Woolf's essay on the subject - setting out with some not-too urgent errand and following where it leads.
Cities/towns I've explored (and how): UK: London, Edinburgh, Bath, Canterbury, Norwich, Coventry (if 'explore' includes 'desperately try to find somewhere to eat that isn't Pizza Hut, KFC or MacD'), York, numerous south coast resorts, Blackpool, Manchester, the Potteries
Europe: Paris, Lyon, Dijon, Arles, Avignon, Toulon, Bandol, Nimes; Madrid, Barcelona, Granada, Malaga, Toledo, Segovia; Lisbon, Oporto, Braga, Aveiro, Viana di Castelo; Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Lubeck; Vienna, Salzburg; Budapest; Brussels, Bruges, Ghent; Amsterdam, The Hague, Leiden, Haarlem; Copenhagen, Kronborg; Oslo, Bergen; Stockholm, Uppsala; Rome, Florence, Venice, Prato, Naples, Amalfi, Capri (not exactly urban, but flanage-central), Bari, Lecce, Matera, Alberobella, Ostuni, Verona, Padua, Sirmione; Athens, Napflio, Mykonos Town, Paros Town, Sifnos Town and also Kastro on Sifnos, Skiathos, Skopelos, Skyros, Thera (and do ruins count?)
Asia: Kabul, Herat, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Delhi, Singapore
Australasia: Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns, Melbourne, Adelaide, Christchurch, Akaroa, Greymouth
North America: New York, Boston/Cambridge, Northampton, Chicago, Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Madison, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Claremont, Urbana-Champaign (not really a flaneur's conurbation, but I tried), Hamilton (0N), Halifax (NS)
Cities/towns I want to explore (and why): What I like is finding myself somewhere for some reason (conference, research, etc) and exploring.
Three things I tend to notice when I'm wandering through a city: Bookshops. Fountains. Weird or incongruous things.
Anything else relevant: So much of London still to explore!

[kake]

I am totally with you on the bus thing. When I first moved to London I did a fair bit of exploring-by-bus, and even now when I'm on an unfamiliar route I usually spend most of the journey peering out the window.

Oh! I just remembered some bus route annotation that some of us did ages ago. That was kind of fun. The bus stop IDs mentioned in that post are described here.

[kerrypolka]

My preferred name (if it's different from my username): Kerry
My last urban ramble/adventure was: I think it was the last Tubewalk, which was in NW London.
My next urban ramble/adventure will probably be: Gosh, somewhere in NW11 or SE something, probably. I like spontaneous weekend afternoon walks so it is likely to start somewhere I'll be already.
Favourite type(s) of urban environment: Streets that are not too crowded and have interesting architecture (pre-1900 especially) or history. I am very appreciative of London's blue plaques and similar "ooh something neat once happened here" markings.
Favourite type(s) of constraint (for those who like putting constraints on their rambles): I don't enjoy constraints as much as some people (not that there is anywhing wrong with that!), but I do like ending in a pub.
Cities/towns I've explored (and how): Lots of ways (because I have lived there!): London, Portland OR; on foot: Vienna, Frankfurt, Prague, Derry, Edinburgh, Oslo, Copenhagen, Cordoba, Granada, Seville. I like to walk around places I am visiting instead of taking public transport, so everywhere I've visited really, but those are ones I have dedicated more than two days to exploring on foot.
Cities/towns I want to explore (and why): I'd like to go farther east and south, especially Moscow, Tel Aviv and Damascus.
Three things I tend to notice when I'm wandering through a city: Residential buildings, eateries, neighborhoods shifting in character.

[kake]

Ending in a pub is always a good thing in my view!

[jodi]

My last urban ramble/adventure was: Probably in Bilbao, Spain.

My next urban ramble/adventure will probably be:I'm moving to London in about a month, so am looking forward to exploring the area I am moving to. (Richmond).

Favourite type(s) of urban environment:One with lots of things to look at, such as graffiti, urban decay, anything weird.

Favourite type(s) of constraint (for those who like putting constraints on their rambles):Most recently I've been trying to record new streets that I go up, collecting streets, I suppose, and marking them on a map. I also like to use Experimental Travel techniques, such as Alternating Travel.

Cities/towns I've explored (and how):Here are some I have walked around alone, to explore: Oxford, Melbourne, Southampton, London, Budapest, Bilbao, San Francisco, Tokyo, Wrexham, Santander, Christchurch, Auckland, Vancouver. There are others.

Cities/towns I want to explore (and why):
As I'm moving to London soon, I'd like to explore more of there. So many other places I'd like to go though!

Three things I tend to notice when I'm wandering through a city:Words, graffiti, oddities.

[kake]

I tried a form of alternating travel once — it was something like take the second left, take the third right, repeat until bored. It didn't work out very interesting, but perhaps that was due to a bad choice of starting point.

I would be really interested to read about your experiences with this! I actually thought you might have posted about it before, but I can't find the post so maybe I imagined it.

Oh! And looking at the Wikipedia page on experimental travel, I guess the iterative pub crawl counts.

[jodi]

Here's some of my alternating travel experiences:

http://squirmelia.livejournal.com/tag/alternating%20travel

I quite like it as it is easy to do.

[kake]

Excellent! I'm glad to see I didn't imagine it. I should revisit the idea I proposed in a comment on this one.

[jodi]

I like the idea of a better algorithm. There are similar things such as the Dot Walk, but that suffers from the same problem.. you may end up with a dull walk or finishing quickly.

I started looking at mobile apps that might provide an algorithm for me, after I tried using the Drift Deck (see my LJ entry on Drifting), such as Serendipitor. (See my entry on Applications for Exploration).

[kake]

Serendipitor looks good! (Shame it's only for iPhone — I have an Android phone.)

I like this passage in the proposal for a psychogeographical iPhone app that you link to: If wandering by chance, the GPS can record one's route without the walker needing to do so. Removing oneself from this process in the present creates a self more reactive to the environment than reflective on the passage.

I find that trying to remember where I'm walking, in order to report on or map it later, does make a difference to how I experience the wander. Though I'm not sure if GPS in a city is going to work well enough to be accurate, especially when you're going down little alleys and such.

[cledon]

My last urban ramble/adventure was: Last week I rambled a bit through the Chicago downtown loop area. Not quite deliberate as I was looking for a particular address and have a lousy sense of direction but I walked along streets I hadn't been before and found a lovely deli to have lunch at.
My next urban ramble/adventure will probably be: Chicago has a path along the lake with parks between it and the city buildings, so you get urban wilderness with an amazing view of the city. I've never walked the length of it.
Cities/towns I've explored (and how): I tend to be timid about exploring so I get to know a city by noticing things on the way to a definite destination. San Francisco was the exception because I walked everywhere there and I was absolutely in love with the city. I've lived all over the United States but San Francisco is the city of my heart.
Cities/towns I want to explore (and why): Chicago! Because I live here and I haven't so far.
Three things I tend to notice when I'm wandering through a city: Old buildings with unusual architectural details, neighborhoods with a strong individual flavor (like ethnic or trendy/artistic). Sudden green spaces and urban wildlife. Restaurants with a cuisine I've never tried before. Bookstores. Used furniture stores.
Anything else relevant: I'm hoping this community will provide inspiration to get out of my apartment and get to know Chicago. I haven't bonded with this city yet and I'd like to. Also, I'm out of shape and walking is the best exercise.

[kake]

I love the sound of that path along the lake.