Exploring Evanston...

What a lovely day of pootling its been.  The weather was absolutely perfect - low 70's with clear blue sky and sunshine and Mumsie and I spent the day wandering around Evanston and getting to know my new(ish) home town better.  After our regular morning stint at the gym (Mumsie is doing the 10-day detox diet - more to come on how she's doing in a few days!…) and our regular yummy smoothie breakfast, we caught the train into town at around 10am and happily rattled along the couple of stops until our station.  We could have walked really, but its always fun to take the train - especially after watching (and hearing!) it coming and going all day from the prime view from my balcony.

We hopped off the train at the Foster stop and then had a very pleasant walk to the market.  Evanston is known as a town of a thousand trees (or something - I haven't counted them all!) and I'm still amazed at the radical difference from when I first moved here in February and everything was coated under a thick thick layer of ice and snow.  The trees are still in full blossom and some of the gardens we walked past were absolutely beautiful - vibrant tulips, delicate violets and intoxicatingly perfumed jasmine.  A treat for the eyes and a feast for the nose.   After about 15mins, we found ourselves at the local market - it was OK - lots of stalls selling plants and flowers, and also lots of stalls selling very yummy, non 10-day detox compliant food!  Local cheeses, artisanal breads, tasty snacks and sweet treats - nom nom nom!   Feeling the need to avoid temptation (some of the smells were very enticing), we hightailed it out of the market and wandered along the high street, checking out the shops and stores.  We came to one particular store, World Market - which I hadn't been into before - that looked interesting, so we decided to check it out.

O. M. G.

We had inadvertently stumbled into a veritable Temple of Brit Food, the Church of Cadbury's, a Pantheon of Picnics.  It was incredible.  The store was one of those fascinating places that sold pretty much everything you could think of (my shopping basket at the end included a stainless steel ornamental plane along with maple candies, metal skewers and old-fashioned kids toys) and that you could spend hours browsing in.  The foodie bit was towards the back of the store, so we only discovered it after about a half hour - first just spotting some biscuits "ooh - look!  Cadbury's Fingers!" before realizing the comprehensive array of old favorites that was on offer!  It was very exciting - each new aisle brought a new revelation "Spotted Dick!" "Ambrosia Devon Custard!" "SALAD CREAM!!!", not least of which was Mumsie realizing that she would never have to bring me over Brit food from Northern Cyprus ever again!!  And - probably not surprisingly - all the brit food (exported directly from the UK) was MUCH cheaper than you can buy in Cyprus too!  Loopy - at this rate, I'll be bringing stuff over for you!!

Flower stall at Evanston local market.
Just add Eliza Dolittle

Anyway, that was a real treat - nostalgia mixed with the future promise of chocolatey gluttony!  We were pretty restrained on this trip (I couldn't resist buying a tin of Heinz beans though) but its great to know where i can get decaf PG Tips and Tunnocks Caramel wafers from!  All that drooling over food had got us feeling quite peckish, so we headed over to Art Smith's new place in town, a very health conscious restaurant called LYFE.  Mumsie got all New Yorky with her order and was asking lots of questions about whether her salad contained corn or GMOs (I was very proud) and I ordered a grass-fed steak with tomatoes.  Both dishes were absolutely delicious, so it was definitely a good lunch spot.  It was a bit noisy inside (but, then again, I'm probably turning into a grumpy old fart) but there was also a big outdoor patio dining area, so we could have moved outside if we'd wanted.

The eminently tempting Evanston market

After lunch, we ended up moseying on home and walked the mile and a half from downtown back to the apartment.  By this time, it was about 4pm but the weather was still so lovely, it was a very pleasant stroll.  After we got back, I artfully arranged my new purchase on my new entryway table and was very happy with the result. The new apartment is now officially "done".  

And with that, day 1 of the long holiday weekend drew to a very chilled out close.  I sat out on my little patio balcony, catching the last afternoon sun and reading the book I'd just bought about Pies (also from the UK, so full of absolute classics that I am dying to try).  Tomorrow, we head into the big smoke and a full day of touristy sightseeing in Chicago awaits!   Yey for holiday weekends!  Here are some more pictures from our day:

A hyperventilatingly exciting shelf

Loopy - this one is for you.
(licking the computer screen won't work, I'm afraid)

JAMMY DODGERS!!!  All ready for the Doctor
Who premiere in August….

I bloody love mushy peas.  Am a very happy bunny right now….

But obviously not quite
as happy as this little bunny….

Get a life?  Moi??

The alternate lunch spot, just across the street, for when
we're off the detox diet….

Parks and churches abound in Evanston... 

But no guns allowed
 at the Bread of Life Church…. no, sirree

Latest - and last - addition - perfect little
 entryway cabinet

The roaming IKEA cabinet finally lands
in its new home!

New home for the Delia chair too!

Kick-ass sunset