Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
292
Chicago
(
&
312/924-9555;
www.timeout
chicago.com) is a w eekly magazine that
includes compr ehensive r oundups of the
week's special ev ents and per formances.
The
Chicago R eader
(
&
312/828-0350;
www.chicagoreader.com) is a fr ee w eekly
that appears each Thursday, with all the
current enter tainment and cultural list-
ings.
Chicago Magazine
(www.chicagomag.
com) is a monthly that is widely r ead for
its restaurant reviews.
CS
is a fr ee lifestyle
monthly that co vers nightlife, dining,
fashion, shopping, and other cultural pur-
suits. The
Chicago D efender
co vers local
and national ne ws of inter est to the Afri-
can-American community . The S panish-
language
La Raza
(www.laraza.com) reports
on stories from a Latino point of view. The
Chicago F ree P ress
(www .chicagofreepress.
com) and
Windy C ity Times
(www.windy
citytimes.com) publish both ne ws and fea-
ture articles about gay and lesbian issues.
PASSPORTS
The w ebsites listed pr o-
vide do wnloadable passpor t applications
as w ell as the curr ent fees for pr ocessing
applications. For an up-to-date, countr y-
by-country listing of passpor t r equire-
ments ar ound the world, go to the
advance immediately or deliv er an emer-
gency cr edit car d in a day or two . Visa's
U.S. emergency number is
&
800/847-
2911
or 410/581-9994. American Express
cardholders and trav eler's check holders
should call
&
800/221-7282.
M aster-
Card holders should call
&
800/307-
7309
or 636/722-7111. F or other cr edit
cards, call the toll-free number directory at
&
800/555-1212.
If y ou need emergency cash o ver the
weekend when all banks and American
Express offices ar e closed, y ou can hav e
money wir ed to y ou via
Western Union
(
&
800/325-6000;
www .westernunion.
com).
MAIL
At pr ess time, domestic postage
rates were 27¢ for a postcar d and 42¢ for
a letter. For international mail, a first-class
letter of up to 1 ounce costs 94¢ (72¢ to
Canada and Mexico); a first-class postcard
costs the same as a postcar d. F or mor e
information go to
www.usps.com
and
click on “Calculate Postage.”
If you aren't sure what your address will
be in the United States, mail can be sent to
you, in y our name, c/o G eneral Delivery
at the main post office of the city or region
where you expect to be. (Call
&
800/275-
8777
for information on the near est post
office.) The addressee must pick up mail
in person and must produce proof of iden-
tity (driver's license, passpor t, and so on).
Most post offices will hold y our mail for
up to 1 month, and ar e open M onday to
Friday fr om 8am to 6pm, and S
“International Travel” tab of the U.S. State
Department at
http://travel.state.gov
.
International visitors to the U.S. can
obtain a visa application at the same w eb-
site.
Note:
Children are required to pr es-
ent a passpor t when entering the U nited
States at airpor ts. M ore information on
obtaining a passpor t for a minor can be
found at http://trav el.state.gov. Allo w
plenty of time before your trip to apply for
a passport; processing normally takes 4 to
6 w eeks (3 w eeks for expedited ser vice)
but can take longer during busy periods
(especially spring). And keep in mind that
if you need a passport in a hurry, you'll pay
a higher processing fee.
For Residents of Australia
You can pick
up an application fr om y our local post
office or any branch of Passports Australia,
but you must schedule an interview at the
aturday
from 9am to 3pm.
Always include zip codes when mailing
items in the U.S. I f you don't know your
zip code, visit www.usps.com/zip4.
MAPS
See “Getting to Kno w Chicago”
in chapter 2.
NEWSPAPERS & MAGAZINES
The
Chicago Tribune
(
&
312/222-3232;
www.
chicagotribune.com) and the
Chicago Sun-
Times
(
&
312/321-3000;
www.suntimes.
com) are the two major dailies.
Time Out
