<p>What might be the easily found big stores nearby campus? In particular, is there a accessible Target & Bed, Bath & Beyond? Thanks!</p>
<p>There are several of both. Houston is the 4th largest city in the US. Go to their web sites and put Houston or the Rice zip code in and you will see them, and do the same thing for Walmart and Penney's and any other store you shop in. You can find the ones nearest the hotel you stay in. Also for later, the Rice shuttle goes to the Target and Fiesta (groceries) on weekends so kids can shop on their own, too</p>
<p>Ikea is only 10-15 minutes away - perfect for cheap dorm stuff and linens! :)</p>
<p>This is the first I've heard about a shuttle -- is there a schedule anywhere?
Only two stops? Any info would be appreciated --</p>
<p>mom'o'four,</p>
<p>We went to the BB&B at 3102 Kirby Dr. and to the Target at 7802 Main St. last summer when we dropped our son off for O-Week. Neither store was very far from campus, but we had a rental car.</p>
<p>There is a Target just down Main St., to which a shuttle runs on the weekends, but you'll probably have a friend with a car and won't even need the shuttle. This summer, I've been biking to Fiesta (a grocery store) on Dunlavy just about every day for my groceries. If you go down Westheimer you can find everything from Bed, Bath, and Beyond to Crate & Barrel to Williams Sonoma, and if you go farther down Westheimer you'll find the Galleria, which is an absurdly large mall with almost any store you could need.</p>
<p>Yeah, the Galleria is great when you run low on Yves Saint Laurent.</p>
<p>I believe you can pick up the shopping shuttle on-campus, not just at the grad students apartments as it seems to indicate at the link above. I believe that the shuttle just commences at that location. During o-week, both of my kids (who do not / did not have cars at Rice) went to Target, etc. with their o-week groups or with friends. Quite a few of the older students on campus have cars.</p>
<p>Haha, fair enough, Dorian. What's interesting about the Galleria, though, is that it has a wide range of stores. Also, if you have a Mac it's worth noting that there is an Apple Store there.</p>
<p>If you click on the what's new link you see that this is the summer info. The fall info with the undergraduate shuttles posts later.
Getting</a> Around Campus - Rice University Transportation Department</p>
<p>the light rail stops right by fiesta.</p>
<p>Gallery is the way to go. Its really nice but don't get mugged.
Just Kidding but its really cool and i think it was 3 stories last time i went their? not sure</p>
<p>The Galleria certainly does have a range of stuff, but most necessities can be found closer and cheaper. Anyway, I usually like to buy clothes in Montrose, because I'm an elitist hipster.</p>
<p>The shuttle runs from like 11am to 2pm...ish. I'm not sure about the exact time, but that's roughly what it is. So as long as you don't sleep too late and don't take too long to get ready in the morning, it's great. It will take you to the Target down the road and back. The Target has most everything you'd need as basic supplies go. If you want to go to either Ikea or the Galleria, you can either bring a car or borrow a friend's car (either option and it's pretty easy to get to when it's not Houston rush hour) or theoretically you can take the bus system. But be forewarned--it will take a long time that way, so don't do that if you're in a hurry (and don't stay out too late at the Galleria, or your bus route will stop running--I found that out the hard way last year!!). You could also take the metro down a few stops and walk to Target (or try the bus system...you might get a little closer), but again, that's going to take time.</p>
<p>In Rice Village there are two drugstores, as well as shops like Banana Republic, Sunglasses Hut, a small secondhand bookstore, etc. that is within walking distance (or you can take the shuttle on Saturday night...and maybe Friday too--I don't remember). The light rail will take you in either direction and you should be able to find a couple things that might be useful like Fiesta, etc. The light rail is fairly easy to use, so long as you have somewhere to go to within walking distance of a light rail stop. </p>
<p>I didn't have a car last semester and I don't plan on ever having a car while I'm at Rice. I do have a bike, and in the worst case scenario, I'll either bike somewhere I need to go (e.g., there's a barber shop within biking distance north of campus, as well as a sports store that's probably easier to get to by car--but the distance is bike-able) or bum a ride off a friend. Your fellows (as we call them at Wiess) or advisers (as other colleges call them) during Oweek may have a car, and they're almost always happy to give you rides if you need them.</p>
<p>Ever since I saw the movie "Click", I can't help but think of the "Beyond" section at Bed, Bath & Beyond =)</p>