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I’ve had an itch to take a day-trip to Indianapolis for quite some time. This is my third year at Purdue but I have yet to truly explore Indiana’s capital city. Purdue is a short hour-ish drive to downtown Indy, so with nothing better to do on a dreary Saturday in the middle of February, my boyfriend and I decided to make a little Valentine’s Day getaway.
With snow on the ground and sleep still in our eyes, we set out early Saturday morning to make the most of our little day trip. After parking at the City Centre Mall, which is quite literally in the center of the city, we started at Nada for lunch. Nada is a colorful, Latin American inspired cantina which my Dad and I had visited my freshman year when we saw Journey and Toto perform at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse. I don’t know if it was because we had been in a rush to make it to the concert and had to quickly eat our food to make it on time, but their tacos had always been engraved in my mind as “such a good taco” (IYKYK). This time, we were able to actually enjoy and savor our meal and it was still every bit as flavorful as I remember.
After we had been fueled, our first stop of the day was the Indiana State Capitol. I’ve visited my fair share of state capitols and Indiana’s is very nice. They have a beautiful blue stained glass ceiling on the inside of the dome which allowed for the crisp winter light to shine through. Many couples seemed to be following with our Valentine’s Day themed celebration in Indianapolis, as we saw many partners getting married in the statehouse. We also witnessed the meeting of a local NAACP chapter, which was cool to see in person.
We left the heart of downtown for a little to make a visit to the Indianapolis Zoo. Because it was the off-season, I found our ticket price to be very reasonable for the experience we got. The zoo was quiet and peaceful in the winter calm; we practically had the whole zoo to ourselves! The Indianapolis Zoo houses both land and water animals, including a sting ray touch tank and a dolphin show. The dolphin show went beyond my expectations for what I thought a dolphin show in the middle of Indiana would be. The Zoo also boasts a very large center for orangutan research and protection, with many orangutans to see up close. They are opening up a zoo-wide chimpanzee exhibit next year, which we will have to come back for!
We went back to downtown Indianapolis to tour Monument Circle. The Soldiers and Sailors Monument is an Indy icon standing tall right in the middle of a round-about. We stopped for a hot beverage at South Bend Chocolate Company to warm up while walking around the circle. The Dark Mocha is absolutely delicious! Made with real chocolate and not too sweet, it was the perfect treat to keep us warm. The buildings surrounding Monument Circle are kept in art deco style and jazz music from the 1920s is played outside to add to the atmosphere.
Our last stop before heading back to Purdue was dinner at the Bottleworks District. Located slightly north of downtown, the Bottleworks District was an old Coca-Cola bottling plant now turned into a trendy food market called The Garage. The buildings are still held in that art deco style, giving an authentic but sleek aesthetic. The Garage holds a variety of restaurants serving diverse culinary options. Italy, Cuba, Brazil, and New England are just some of the destinations whose cuisine is represented. They definitely have something for everyone!
This quick trip was a much needed getaway from campus life. It was fun to explore the city together and reconnect. It made for the perfect day trip, and while I don’t feel as if we missed out on visiting anything on our short trip, I would definitely come back to see the spots we visited.
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