TCW Travel Connection Archives

Want a taste of Puerto Rico without boarding a plane? Family-owned storefront La Cocina Boricua de la Familia Galarza offers a delicious taste of the island in Logan Square.

As a world traveler who doesn't get out of Chicago nearly as much as she'd like, I like to use ethnic cuisine as a way to experience other cultures until I have a chance to visit their home countries in person. If you're like me and love to eat as much as you love exploring, check out the I WISH "World Food Tour." Chicago-based I WISH gives you a delicious sampling of various ethnic cultures and cuisines by hosting "group classes" at Chicago restaurants that feature authentic takes on different types of cuisine.

I don't know about you, but THESE are the kinds of classes I'd never want to skip. Each one starts with someone from that culture giving a brief introduction to its food and cultural traditions--and then a prix fixe meal is served.

One of my all-time favorite movies, 2004's "Before Sunset" explores what happens on a Parisian afternoon when one-time lovers (American Jesse and the French Celine) reunite nine years after their initial meeting on a European train. Who says that perhaps "the one" doesn't live on the other side of the world?

"Under the Tuscan Sun," one of my OTHER all-time cinematic faves, depicts in GLORIOUS Amalfi Coast color what happens when a stressed-out American chica meets a gorgeous Marcello in Italy. MAM-ma mia, indeed!

Many of us single folks generally feel about the month of February the same way we do about appointments at the dentist--something to be tolerated, but you're sure glad when they're over. That's because the shortest month of the year brings with it the dreaded Valentine's Day, and with THAT reminders of relationships that tanked and the promise of yet another dateless Feb. 14.

But that's what I think about when I'm at home. For some amazing reason, over the years my romantic fortunes always seem to perk up once I leave the confines of Chicago--and ESPECIALLY when I fly out of American air space. I hear this echoed by other single women, as well. Maybe we're subconsciously more free and laid-back and therefore more alluring when we're away from familiar surroundings, but there's something to be said for looking for--and experiencing--romance on the road.

A glimpse at Balsan, the European-inspired bistro inside the Gold Coast's new Elysian Hotel. The casually chic eatery takes its inspiration from 1920s Paris--which of course thrills Francophiles like me.

Last time this year, I was in Paris, celebrating the arrival of my 40th birthday. But this year I stayed put, with a lack of vacation days and a limited budget prompting me to remain stateside for this year's anniversaire. But for Francophiles like me who wish they were somewhere in La France, downtown Chicago's new luxury Elysian Hotel-- and Balsan, its gorgeous European-inspired bistro, offer lovely touches of the country minus the travel costs and airport hassles.

Everything about the Elysian, from the moment you enter the French-inspired "motor court" off East Walton Street, whispers luxury. (Not surprisingly, the Gold Coast hotel was designed by Chicago-based, French-born architect Lucien Lagrange.) The goal is for guests and visitors to feel transported back to an earlier era, as the Elysian's design was inspired by grand Art Deco Parisian hotels of the 1920s. And it certainly works.

The small risks I've taken over the years when traveling eventually gave me enough nerve--and confidence--to move to Florence, Italy, five years ago. Who knows where your travel "risks" might lead you?

Renting a flat when traveling in Europe may not seem like a big deal--but then try to figure out how to work a stove or washing machine. For me, renting apartments abroad rather than staying in a predictable hotel helps me step outside my comfort zone when on the road.

I recently ran across this quote and realized how much it not only applies to my approach to life, but certainly to my attitude toward travel.

In our "real lives," many of us pride ourselves on being rational, intellectual and practical, so it's not always easy to let our hair down when away on vacation. I'm not talking about drunken, "Girls Gone Wild"-type of craziness, but the type that takes you outside your usual comfort zone--whatever that happens to be.

Catch the charming Christkindlmarket in downtown Chicago's Daley Plaza before it closes up at 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

I love Europe, but I must admit--Germany's never been high on my list of countries where I want to spend lots of time. Ironically, it was the first country I visited on the continent, traveling there in 1998 to visit a friend working on a U.S. Army base in Hanau. And I've flown through Frankfurt's United Airlines hub plenty of times on my way to or from Italy or France or someplace else.

Still, strolling through downtown Chicago's Christkindlmarket with out-of-town relatives this year--for the first time in the market's 14-year history, even though I've lived a mile away for the past nine--made me almost want to drop into Deutschland.

C-House Pastry Chef Toni Roberts will help re-create the menu served at President Barack Obama's first State Dinner last month -- which included Pumpkin Pie Tart and Pear Tarte Tatin.

Tiger Woods and Ambien have knocked last month's White House State Dinner gate-crashers Michaele and Tareq Salahi out of the media spotlight--but that doesn't mean that memories of President Barack Obama's first State Dinner have totally faded. Downtown Chicago's C-House Fish and Chips restaurant, owned by celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson and now run deliciously by new Executive Chef Nicole Pederson, will host a one-night-only re-creation of the menu Samuelsson created for the Obamas and hundreds of their closest (and not-so-close) friends, Hollywood supporters and political heavy-hitters.

Pederson helped her boss create a seasonal, Indian-American-inspired menu in honor of India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife, Gursharan Kaur. And on Wednesday, Dec. 9, C-House guests can dine just as the Obamas did by ordering the "State Dinner" menu.

The new Chicago French Market -- located inside the Ogilvie Transportation Center's suburban commuter concourse -- offers fresh-minded downtown shoppers ethnic cuisine and other specialties year-round.

I must admit -- I don't cook much, but vegetables THIS gorgeous inspired me! I'll be stopping by the French Market to pretend I'm shopping at some lovely spot in Paris.

As someone who has worked downtown for years, I'd been waiting with anticipation for the rumored opening of a French Market in the Ogilvie Transportation Center space. I'd seen signs on the outdoor window for ages--so imagine my delight when I heard from a well-informed friend that the Market was FINALLY opening to the public. Those of you who read this blog (as well as www.UrbanTravelGirl.com) know what an obsessive Francophile I am. And since I'm sadly not heading to France this holiday season as I often do, instead trying to do the fiscally responsible thing and stay close to home, news that I soon could shop at an authentic French market just doors from my downtown workplace promised to brighten my month!

And what a treat it's been! Soon after the Chicago French Market opened its doors--with thousands of curious shoppers rushing in on the first open-to-the-public day Dec. 3!--I made my way over mid-afternoon to check it out. Not only did I get a chance to meet the France-based Market operators and co-developers (and chat a bit with them in my broken French, thanks to ongoing classes at the fab Alliance Française de Chicago), but I had a chance to leisurely stroll this amazing 15,000-square foot space. Talk about a most welcome slice of Europe in downtown Chicago.

Ahhh... the joy of traveling to France through a glass of fruity, food-friendly Beaujolais Nouveau. Drink it while it's young!

Chef Didier Durand of Cyrano's Bistrot & Wine Bar takes a brief break to celebrate the Beaujolais Nouveau release with my friend Lisa (center) and me at our table!

Those who know me well know that I NEVER need an excuse to sip a glass of wine--especially when it's red. And French. I figure it's an elegant and delicious way to experience France without boarding a single flight.

Thursday night, I finally made it to an event celebrating the annual release of Beaujolais Nouveau, a wonderfully light and fruity red wine which comes from a region of France just north of gastronomically blessed Lyon. Despite the fact that this wine isn't terribly expensive--or, truth be told, given much respect by connoisseurs--Beaujolais is beloved by folks the world over. Under French law, Beaujolais Nouveau cannot officially be released until the third Thursday of November. Hence, the global glass-clinking that breaks out at countless restaurants and special events on this same day, from Cannes to Cape Town to Chicago.

Feel less like a tourist and more like a traveler by renting an apartment rather than a hotel room. During a recent trip to the French Riviera village of Villefranche-sur-Mer, I rented a second-floor "flat" (in a 500-year-old building!) right in the pedestrian-only "old town," and tried to live as the locals did.

The difference between being a "tourist" and a "traveler" is as vast as the gap between flying international First Class and coach. It's all about the experience--and if you've traveled both ways, you know exactly what I'm talking about. While everyone on that flight reaches the destination at the same time, each person's takeaway will be shaped by how they passed the time inside that airplane cabin.

In my career as a journalist and corporate communications professional, I've visited nearly 30 countries and spent nearly one year as a freelance writer in Florence, Italy. I've lived and worked in and visited plenty of these United States. And everywhere I've gone--from Miami to Montreal to Madrid and many points in-between--I've tried to experience each unique culture as its locals do. While the "tourist vs. traveler" debate has swirled for years, it all shakes down to this for me: Be willing to make yourself uncomfortable.

Trips to Italy inspired Maureen to trade her hectic Chicago life for one in Florence. For nearly one year, she lived in a rented flat not far from this picturesque Florentine street.

Trips, whether you take them within the United States or abroad, sometimes do much more than earn you frequent-flier miles and provide you with snapshots to share with family and friends. Some of the best allow you to slow down and re-examine your "real life" with new eyes, often inspiring you to make small--and significant--changes once you get home. And what's amazing is that it sometimes takes YEARS before the transformation takes place.

While I've had been fortunate to travel across the States and overseas, the journey that set my life on a new trajectory was my first solo trip to San Francisco back in 2001. At the time, I was working at stressful corporate job in suburban Chicago and desperately needed some R&R. So I booked a stay in a bed-and-breakfast in the charming Napa Valley town of Calistoga, with plans to wrap up my trip in San Fran's North Beach/Little Italy district and its funky-cool Hotel Boheme. Even back then, I was obsessed by all things Italian and was already planning a trip to "bella Italia" with a couple of friends. But who knew that a chance encounter with a gorgeous young Italian ragazzo would impact my life for years to come?

Is one really "the loneliest number," as that old song by Three Dog Night used to claim? Not if you travel alone and learn to love it.

I'm sure after all these years, folks wonder what's up with me, always planning trips to some far-off locale with rarely an invitation extended to anyone else. While some of my most memorable trips have been taken in the company of family and friends, I've probably enjoyed best those where I decided to fly solo. I treated myself to a two-week adventure in the French Riviera to celebrate my 40th birthday earlier this year; I returned alone to the same lovely Mediterranean spot several months later and never once found myself lonely. And those are just two of the many domestic and overseas trips I've made by myself for both business and pleasure.

The seasonal and casual Cyrano's Café and Wine Bar on the Riverwalk lets guests pretend they're dining along the Seine River in Paris, as I did during a visit in September.

Anyone who knows me well--or who's paying attention within 10 minutes of meeting me--is well aware of my love of all things international: cuisine, languages, men, you name it. Friends and colleagues constantly quiz me: "So where's your next foreign trip? I know you're on your way somewhere." For the first time in a long time, I'm staying put--mostly because I'm out of vacation time and am forcing myself to stick to a budget. But that doesn't mean I'm willing to give up globetrotting. Instead, I'm doing it right here in Chicago--no passport, visas or trips to O'Hare required.

Even if you don't have the cash or the time to travel abroad this fall, the fabulous thing about world-class Chicago is that you can truly span the globe without crossing the city limits. We in the Windy City are marvelously blessed with incredible ethnic diversity, most of it reachable by public transportation. Next time you're feeling in need of a foreign experience, consider adding some of the following to your free time:

Some of us who don't get to travel overseas as much as we'd like find ourselves "acting out," or living AS IF we were visiting those cultures we so adore. For my former newspaper colleague and friend Sharon Sanders and me, that place is often Italy. In fact, although Sharon lived and worked in Florence, Italy, for many years, Italy's never left HER. That's why she created a gorgeous, award-winning blog called "Simple Italy: Italian Food, Culture, Lifestyle and Travel." Essentially, it's an ongoing love letter--albeit a high-tech one anyone can read--to Italy.

Years ago, she and I bonded because of our shared love of Italy and all things Italian--its cuisine, its culture, the beautiful people. Recently, Sharon honored me big-time by featuring me and my "Inner Italian" persona in a recent post on her blog. This occasional Q&A feature highlights "wannabe Italians or expatriate Italians--who try to 'live Italian' wherever they are."