It was only 2 weeks ago that plans were finalized and now, I find myself in Bloomington, Indiana. I’ve never been up here before, which was what ultimately brought me here. The real reason why I found myself here was because Hubby needed to go for a program at IU.
On the way here, I sat between two men – one of whom was originally from a small town (or “village” as he called it) right outside of Indianapolis, the state capital.
Me: Do you have any recommendations?
Him: [slight pause] No.
Well, that was promising for my prospects for the rest of the week, especially since Bloomington is actually an hour’s drive outside of Indianapolis. I made a list of possible places to get food, as per usual (food is very important to me, you see). However, I didn’t find much online either other than for the Indy 500 in Indianapolis.
As for Bloomington, the IU campus was actually listed as one of the top attractions. However, the man on the plane did tell me that he believed I would enjoy Bloomington a lot. …And after the first full day, I have to say that it is quite the college town, reminding me a bit of Austin but smaller. I liked it for the most part. The campus itself most definitely has its charm and I love the amount of nature that is found in every nook and cranny, but that will be reserved for a separate post.
The first full day was also the only day I could spend a part of with Hubby, as the rest of his week was booked and I would be spending a majority of it working on the weekdays and otherwise amusing and/or occupying myself. It is also the day that Bloomington’s Community Farmer’s Market is open, so although we checked into our hotel room at 1 AM and didn’t sleep until it was past 2, I set the alarm so that we could make it to the Market by 9 AM (they open at 8).
It was a 20 minute walk from the hotel, but it was an enjoyable one. The weather was slightly breezy and though the sun was out, you could barely feel it. It was a cool 70-something and I loved it. I was very much excited; once I finally got myself out of bed, I was all gung-ho about heading to the place. I love farmer’s markets and the ones in Houston aren’t very big. This one made me very excited but first – I must tend to my stomach. We walked through while I quickly glanced at the stands before I could get distracted to find breakfast food. We finally found them in the back – there were breads, pastries, cakes, muffins, tarts…. there was even a tamale stand! I wanted tamales but didn’t fancy explaining my dietary restrictions so I just stuck with the sweets.
Once we demolished our breakfast (Apricot Marzipan Tart, Peach Tart, Strawberry Smoothie, and Coffee), I could finally see what other offerings there were…
I fell in love with the fresh produce and fungi. They were so beautifully placed and absolutely gorgeous. They also had honey (tempting!), cheese, crafts, potted plants, and even traditional kettle popcorn (wo)manned by an Amish woman. There were several stalls that were run by the Amish, actually. It was pretty good sized and the closer it got to lunch time, the more people there seemed to be. I was saddened that I didn’t have my kitchen so I couldn’t purchase any of the food I wanted.
We walked around before we found an Antiques Mall with some random knickknacks. I love my antiques – the older the better – so I was curious.
Then we continued walking about before we got brunch (and post-brunch dessert!) and had to head back to the room so Hubby could prepare for his schedule.
I continued the rest of my day exploring the campus grounds and finding dinner. ❤
Up in the Clouds 
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