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| Benjamin [inactive] |
IndianapolisI want to go and stay with our American family friend in Indianapolis in the Midwestern (I think) United States next year. The thing is, because it's not exactly a holiday destination, it's not the sort of place that we hear about very much — if I were to visit the United States without knowing her beforehand, I probably wouldn't have thought to go there.So... to anyone who might have been there, is it worth visiting on its own, or would it be better to combine my stay with a visit to somewhere-else? |
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| Deborah |
I think the most exciting thing in Indianapolis is the floods. Maybe you should plan to visit Chicago while you're (sort of) in the area. | ||||
| fab |
Indianapolis I don't know. But I don't think the city would have so many interest points. But Deborah advide is good; If you have time you should really go to Chicago, interesting early (birthplace of the american skyscappers) and late 20th century architecture, nice museums, the lake, etc. :
Sullivan, neo-classical precursors of the skyscrappers, steel frame buildings : 
The famous Germano-American architect Mies Van Der Rohe, from the Bauhaus, "invetor" of the "international style" 
The Robbie house from Franck Lloyd Wright : .jpg)
Etc. |
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| Deborah |
Or you could go an equal distance south and visit Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. | ||||
| Porthos |
Unless you like nascar or whatever kind of car racing, don't bother going to Indi. Go to Chicago. | ||||
| Loic |
The name rings a bell in my consciousness. Then Porthos mentioned Nascar, possibly the lamest racing sport ever where cars just speed around in conventional circuits on and on till kingdom come. | ||||
| Harrenys Targaryen |
Re: Indianapolis
Ugh, Marion County...don't get me started on the SPRAWL that surrounds (and sometimes finds its way into) Indy. I should know: my uncle is a racer fanatic and bribed me three times to go with him when no one else would. At 2:00 PM during our last visit, we almost got mugged. Now, Chicago, approximately 250 kilometers away...if you and your company decide to pass by, then ask me anything you'd like to know about it. (I dwell in one of its suburbs.) |
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| Porthos |
Nascar is nauseatelingly boring. It's really a sport for confederate flag waving red-necks. | ||||
| Loic |
Am in total agreement with you, mate. |
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
Well thanks for the advice everyone!
I think I will still go to Indianapolis as I have someone to stay with there, but I'll make sure that we go to lots of other places. She said that we'd go and visit the Amish communities and she also suggested that we drive to Wisconsin so that I could see my other friends there (sounds like a ridiculously long drive to me though). |
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| Deborah |
I think we in the US have a different idea of what constitutes a long distance. It must be because the number of miles that make up a given distance is much less than the number of kilometers. 
I finally remembered to ask my roommate, who used to be in the Indianapolis Ballet, what there is to do in Indianapolis. She says there's an excellent symphony orchestra (I'd forgotten about that) and good jazz clubs. |
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| Uriel |
Benjamin, one Christmas my parents, in their infinite wisdom, insisted on driving from New York to Massachusetts, then down to Louisiana, then back up to NY via Ohio. Shortly thereafter they were divorced....
Driving means nothing to us. I routinely make the 220-mile (3 hour) trek to Albuquerque. El Paso's only 40 minutes/miles down the freeway -- we're practically a suburb, as far as I'm concerned -- but I once had an east coaster ask me if people actually would drive that distance to see a concert. (!!! Of course!!!) You definitely have to go to Indy, if only to report back your observations to us! You can skip the Indy 500. I've never been to the midwest at all, but it's a big city -- there'll be plenty to do, especially if you have a local to take you around. |
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
 I recently saw an online travel diary of some Americans who had visited Europe. They were staying in London, but said that they had decided to drive all the way to Edinburgh 'on the spur of the moment'. I'm sorry, but that's not a spur of the moment drive — it would take all day!  I can't drive myself, but the longest car journey I've ever been on was from Birmingham to Aberdeen earlier this year — and we spent the night in Carlisle, which is about halfway.
The only reason I was a bit concerned because my uncle went there last year to attend some meetings and absolutely hated it. But I think that this was mainly because he was staying in a hotel on his own outside the city centre and there was insufficient public transport — he couldn't do anything. |
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| Harrenys Targaryen |
Oh, crud, I forgot to mention that: many here love their cars, and wouldn't bat an eye if they nearly run someone over. I guess that what I want to say is that a rental car is the safest option, because [pedestrians] + [American city] (sans NYC, SanFran, Boston, and possibly Chicago) = [match made in Tartarus]. |
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| Joanne |
"Car"?  You wouldn't be talking of those yellow, honking, 2-ton steel death machines that aim for you as you cross the street?
Oh, how true... Indianapolis is the home of the Indy 500, after all. Some of them might be in training for the race in May. 
They only make left turns, though, so you should be all right if you stay out of the left lane, Benjamin.
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| Julian |
I checked on Mapquest. The the driving time from Indianapolis to Milwaukee, WI is roughly 4 1/2 hours. That's only a 1/2 hour less than the driving time from Los Angeles to Las Vegas (on a normal day, not, for instance on New Year's Eve). If older Filipino women can endure a drive through the desert to Las Vegas every weekend, then you should have no problem enduring a drive to Wisconsin! 
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| Uriel |
Enduring Wisconsin, on the other hand ....
America's dairy capital, Wisconsin. Famous for their cheese production. So much so that fans of the Green Bay Packers (Wisconsin-based football team) call themselves Cheeseheads and proudly wear foam wedges on their heads. 
Not according to Mapquest UK, which puts it at 400 miles, 6.5 hours. If you started early in the morning, you could be there by lunch! My dad's most recent trip involved flying into Gatwick, a three hour bus ride to another English airport, a flight to Marseille, renting a car and driving to the Cote d'Azur, then driving from France through Spain to Portugal. They spent the night in Salamanca, then on to Lisbon. When I was visiting him in Germany, we drove from Bitburg to a) Paris, b) Amsterdam, c) Brugge, and to plenty of other points all over the area. In England, we drove from London to his house in Cambridge (well, Huntingdon), and from there to Stratford. I don't know how far apart those UK places are, but I don't think any of those distances even merited a bathroom break. |
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