Indianapolis, IN | Part 2

Continued from Part 1.

Downtown Indianapolis is full of beautiful statues, monuments, and architecture. The locals enjoy eating lunch, lounging, and exercising on monument steps and in the surrounding parks. The most popular sight in downtown is the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument in Monument Circle, completed in 1901 and built to honor local war veterans. Funny story: it costs $2/person to take the elevator up to the top of the monument, but to walk all 330 steps it's free. We climbed all the steps because of Taras's hilarious refusal to pay for something you can get for free. Our time to get to the top was 4 mins 40 secs (T) and 4 mins 53 secs (A). Our rewards were my melted makeup, a steaming hot top floor that was completely closed in (fail!), and some wobbly legs for the rest of the day - ha!

We wrapped up our time in Indianapolis by walking down the city's canal walk, where we were joined by many runners. The canals are filled with bright orange fish and ducks, and the sides of the canal are lined with modern condos.

We'd love to visit Indianapolis again and see more of what the city has to offer!

-Amanda

For travel updates as they happen, follow us on facebook, twitter, and Instagram (@amandabouzakine).

Indianapolis, IN | Part 1

After Fort Wayne we headed down to Indianapolis. The drive was beautiful farm land the whole way - so beautiful that we even stopped once to get out of the car and take it all in.

Indianapolis was honestly such a surprise for us - a much larger city than we had realized and there is so much to do and see in terms of neighborhoods, museums, and outdoor activities.  The city was super clean and we were there when spring flowers were a-blooming, making downtown smell beautiful. There were a good number of bicyclists out on the many designated bike lanes throughout the city. We were in town the week of the Indy 500 and it was a lot of fun to see the city really embracing the race, with houses and storefronts sporting "Welcome Race Fans!" signs (we actually skipped the Hall of Fame Museum since they were charging extra during race week). There were a lot of "Beat the Heat" banners up while the Indiana Pacers were battling the Miami Heat in the NBA playoffs. We also started noticing more western-inspired wear (decorative belts and buckles, etc.) and some southern-ish accent with y'alls being thrown around (yay!).

We started our time in Indianapolis in the Broad Ripple Village neighborhood. After brunch at 3 Sisters Cafe we walked around a bit to check out the restaurants, bars, and a few boutiques, a lot of which are nestled between adorable houses.  There's a definite hip vibe about the area and we totally dug their slogan, "we're open if you are."

Next we headed to the Mass Ave section of town.  We, of course, felt right at home just by the name of the street :) Mass Ave is the arts and theater district of the city and it shows through - artful bike and pedestrian sidewalks/crosswalks, painted curbs, and artist commissioned works at various spots on the street. There were restaurants and eclectic shops aplenty in the area and many cyclists peddling by - an easy neighborhood to fall in love with. Oh, and we were sure to have some famous Bazbeaux pizza.

More to come in Part 2.

-Amanda




For travel updates as they happen, follow us on facebook, twitter, and Instagram (@amandabouzakine).

Memorial Day (weekend)

(Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, Indianapolis)

Happy Friday, everyone! We wish you all a great Memorial Day weekend and we thank all the service men and women, past and present, who fight for our country.

We will be back on Tuesday - we're going to enjoy the long weekend with everyone else!

-Amanda