Indy: What to See, Eat and Do

(Me with the giant Vonnegut mural on Mass Ave and the 

Funky Bones Sculpture from The Fault in Our Stars)

Oh Indianapolis, how I love you. I’m a lifelong Hoosier and am constantly shocked when I hear people say there isn’t anything to do in our city. We have so much to offer! We may not be a literary capital of the world, but we have wide and diverse cultural offerings. There are a dozen theatres, a symphony, that little race track, and tons of independent restaurants and parks.

So all of that has been on my mind lately and I thought I would make a list of a few of my favorite MUST SEE things in our city. I hope you’ll check them out if you’re ever in my neck of the woods!

Yummy Places to Eat:

Yats: Cajun/Creole food, cheap and so delicious!

Rathskeller: German food, really fun outdoor biergarten in the summer (Building designed by Kurt Vonnegut’s father)

Brugge: Belgian food, think frites, mussels, crepes and wonderful beer

Saffron Café: Moroccan Food, I’ve never had a bad meal here!

Mesh: A little bit pricey, but a good, unique menu

Creation Café: Located right on the White River, beautiful view of the city

The Tamale Place: Best tacos ever. No seriously. The tamales are obviously really good too.

Traders Point Creamery: Amazing cheese, yogurt, etc. made there!

Free Place to Check Out:

Indy Reads Books: My favorite used bookstore in the city. Every penny of their sales supports literacy in Indy!

James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home

Indianapolis Art Museum: Everything from Monet to the famous LOVE sculpture. Bonus: In the summer the art museum has an outdoor amphitheater where they show classic movies!

Indianapolis Central Library: I’ve spoken before about how much I love this library. Not only does it beautifully combine the old and the new, it also provides one of the best views of the city.

HART - Free Shakespeare performance on the White River Canal.

100 Acres Park: A beautiful park to wander in, plus it includes the huge Funky Bones sculpture from The Fault in Our Stars!

Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library

Sun King Brewery: A local brewery that offers free tastings on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Crown Hill Cemetery: Gorgeous cemetery with walking tours, the final burial place for author James Whitcomb Riley and outlaw John Dillinger.

Holliday Park: Beautiful park with crazy old ruins (mentioned in The Fault in Our Stars)  

Local Farmers Markets

Who North America: For any Whovians out there, this is store entirely dedicated to Doctor Who. It is mainly an online store, but you can shop at their actual facility too and they’re incredibly nice.

Lew Wallace’s Study (The author of Ben Hur)
The Cultural Trail: Biking and walking trails through Indy

Other Random fun Stuff:

The Children’s Museum: One of the most incredible in the country. It’s fun for adults too and includes a huge Dale Chihuly glass sculpture.

Keystone Art Cinema: They show wonderful movies and have a bar, so you can take your drink in with you. Yes please. 

Fountain Square Duck Pin Bowling

Chatterbox Jazz Club

A few other resources if you plan a trip:

Indy Venues

Visit Indy 

Do It Indy 

Around Indy

50 Cheap Dates in Indy

Photos by moi. 

The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars
by John Green
★★★★★

Hazel is a 16-year-old girl with terminal cancer. Her life is limping along until she meets Augustus Waters, an unexpected lightning bolt that refuses to be ignored. There are hospitals and poems, reclusive authors and picnics; and together the try to navigate some of life's most difficult questions.

I've been a John Green fan since reading Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns a few years ago, so my expectations for The Fault in Our Stars were high and yet he managed to exceed them. Soon the internet will be filled reviews of TFIOS. Many will discuss the fascinating elements in this novel (check out Ana's brilliant thoughts here) and I can't wait to see what everyone has to say about it. But this time I'm going to leave that to others and just stick to just talking about why this novel rang true for me. My reasons are threefold.

First, one of my close friends just lost her sister-in-law to cancer. She was incredibly young and left behind a husband and a four-year-old son. Only a few hours before I started the book, my friend and I were talking about how people tend to turn the deceased into saints. We forget about out silly arguments with them and the fact that sometimes they were rude or cranky. Instead, we think only of their best moments and in doing so we do them a disservice. We stop thinking f them as real people and so we're no longer remembering them, we are remembering a perfect idea of them.

So just after this conversation I started reading TFIOS and it talks about this issue in detail. It was just one of those moments when it feels like the universe is conspiring to teach you something. The timing was so perfect.

"The dead are visible only in the terrible lidless eye of memory. The living, thank heaven, retain the ability to surprise and to disappoint."

"The thing about dead people,... the thing is you sound like a bastard if you don't romanticize them, but the truth is... complicated, I guess."


My second reason is a geographic one. The majority of the book is set in Indianapolis, which happens to be my home town. No one ever writes fiction set in my city, seriously, no one. There are scores of novels set in London, New York and Paris and when I read them I sometimes recognize places the authors mention and feel a little thrill thinking I've see whatever the characters are looking at. But it's different when you actually live in the city.

Green mentions the farmer's market in Broad Ripple, which is held across the street from where I used to live. I would go there on Saturday mornings and buy apples and honey. He talks about the Castleton mall, where I hung out in high school and Holliday Park, whose ruins I have marveled at, just like Hazel does. When Hazel and Augustus have their picnic in a park by a museum, I knew exactly where it was and headed there to see Funky Bones for myself. After sweeping the snow off the top of the whole thing I took a few pictures, (see above), and then reread that section of the book. I can't explain how much I loved reading about my own city through the eyes of these wonderful characters.

Finally, I loved this book because of Green's writing. He writes in a way that is infinitely relatable. He does not shy away from difficult issues. Instead, he turns a story about cancer, death and the desire to be remembered into one about living and first love and favorite novels. He can take a subject as big as cancer and make us feel like we are talking to a friend about it.

He has the unique ability to say profound things in a simple way. For example, "It all felt very Romantic, but not romantic." I think anyone who has received red roses or a sappy box of chocolate can relate to that. The things that are suppose to feel romantic never convey that feeling half as well as those moments when you and your partner can't stop laughing at something silly or struggle through a difficult time together. Green takes moments like that and strings them together to create novels that feel so real. By the end of the book you care so deeply about Hazel, Augustus, Isaac and their parents, that you just want to stay in their world a little longer. And that is truly the highest praise I can give any book.

"Grief does not change you, Hazel. It reveals you."

"You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful."

"The marks humans leave are too often scars."

Photos of Funky Bones by moi.

John Green is Pretty Awesome

(Horrible iPhone photos of Green signing my book and speaking)

On Nov. 1st I got to go see John Green speak in Indianapolis. One thing I learned was that the man has some serious teenage groupies, which on one hand is wonderful because he’s reaching a whole new generation of readers. But, on the other hand, it’s annoying to have to sit next to dozens of giggling piles of hormones. Anyway, that’s beside the point and even though I’m only 27, it makes me feel old to say that. What I really want to talk about it the author himself.

So here’s the thing about John Green. Yes, I think his vlogs are hilarious and I really love his books, but seeing him talk in person leaves me with a different reaction. I feel like he’s just a normal guy who I could grab a beer with and I love that. I feel like I could run into him in Indy and have a great conversation about life or books, etc. There are some authors that are so intimidating for one reason or another, but Green isn’t one of them, and that’s a good thing. I think that’s also why his writing is so accessible. You can relate to what he’s saying.

The talk was great, aside from a few awkward audience questions, like “Will you give me a hug?” Really people, that’s never an appropriate question to ask a stranger who is on a stage in front of hundreds of people. I loved hearing him read from his new book, The Fault in Our Stars, though I wished I could keep reading it instead of waiting until I get my pre-ordered copy in January. I got two more books signed by him afterwards and I was reminded of just how much I love hearing authors talk about their work. It always gives me a deeper insight into their work. Just hearing them talk about their lives or writing process allows me to connect a bit more with the work.

One thing that he said has really stuck with me. He referenced a well-known quote about how dogs have it so easy because they know how to be dogs. Then he talked about how people don’t really know how to be people and everyday we have to try to figure out what we’re doing and what the point of it is. It was much more profound when he said it. So, if you haven’t read anything by him, you definitely should. Looking for Alaska or Paper Towns would both be great places to start.