Postcard from Indy

A person does not expect to be welcomed by such a fabulous and mysterious character, but Dear Reader, Indianapolis was full of surprises.

Entrance, Dalí Alive, THE LUME Indianapolis

For instance, I never thought I’d enjoy something Coca Cola created so much, which is doubly remarkable considering the beverage company introduced this venture some 93 years ago.

I drank it in for two whole days, but that didn’t begin to quench my thirst for the place.

The Bottleworks Hotel: a Coke never went down so easy.

Later, we stopped by a glorious old house. For all its grandeur, it was the kitchen that made me feel a certain way, like if your Great Gram or Aunt Hattie was right there sighing next to you and whispering See? This is why I told you to save the big mixing bowl with the pastel stripes. This is what I meant when I said the napkins with the embroidered daisies were special.

Boy-oh-boy was she right.

Kitchen, Lilly House at Newfields

The swans were peaceful and the tiger illuminating. The bears? They frolicked, while the bison were deadly serious. And I simply adored those two lazy mastodons as they loped around their cousin Fred’s house.

Wild creatures roam Indy.

Then we met one woman who had simply had enough.

Georg Kolbe, Lament (Klage), date unknown, Newfields

We found a warning for trespassers, a giant mustache floating in the air, a lady with two wings & one hoof, and a chair you definitely should NOT sit on when you’re naked.

Miscellaneous stuff for which I'm too tired to find links

But the biggest thing we found in Indy, my secret friend, is one of my favorite things of all.

Robert Indiana, Love, 1970, Newfields

There was so much more, just suffice it to say: Indianapolis went far beyond a famous brickyard.

Love, Erin

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ps: Glad you asked. No, the “tiger” link above is not an error. There is a bar in the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library. Don’t believe me? They’ll be serving up mint juleps for the Kentucky Derby next month.

pss: Why, yes, there are a few other postcards scattered around here. I’ve got one from Kansas City, another from Buffalo, and yet one more from Warren, Ohio.

psss: While roaming around the Bottleworks Hotel, did I find the “tiny bathroom tiled in baby pink, discreetly hidden away at the top of a dazzling, grand staircase?”

Hm …