Dave and I saw Taylor Swift over the weekend in Indianapolis and loved every single minute of it... both the concert and just being in Indy together for the night. We fit in so much fun from the second we arrived until we pulled out the next morning. Here's a look at a weekend that was simply the BEST. For Christmas I received the new (back then) Taylor Swift CD, Reputation. This baby was packed down in my stocking with a little note that tickets to the show were included. I must have been on the super nice list in the North Pole this year. Thanks, Santa!
Once the holidays died down, we checked out the schedule and selected Indianapolis as the winner. We were fortunate that she had several shows near us including Louisville and Nashville, but Indy was mid- September on an open weekend for us and gave us that much more time to look forward to it.
Saturday morning we woke up early to our packed bag, dropped Hopsen off at her Granddad's, grabbed coffee and were headed to Indianapolis to see our girl Taylor! We took her CDs to listen the whole way there, just to make sure we were caught up on any old song she might whip out. These are the only CDs I've ever got in my twenties... and they both came from Santa Calus!
We arrived in Indy, dropped our bags off at the hotel and headed straight for lunch. Dave had already picked out Cafe Patachou and it did not disappoint. It was a short walk from our hotel and was packed. Known as a student union for adults since 1989, this place rocked. We loved everything about it!
The food (and drinks) were awesome!
We walked around for awhile and enjoyed the beautiful day in Indy. Dave and I have visited Indy a handful of times before and always like our time there. Whether it's visiting friends, going to ballgames or just spending a weekend away - we always find that we really enjoy Indianapolis.
We made a pit stop at The South Bend Chocolate Company in Monument Circle and each picked out one sweet treat! This area of the city is home to Soldiers and Sailors Monument with a big round-about circle around it. On a pretty day it's a great place to sit, relax and take in the city.
We had the whole afternoon ahead with no other plans until dinner so we hopped on BIRD and made our way to a local brewery.
We were introduced to BIRD when we visited our friends in California over the summer, but this was our first time around. We know there are lots of different opinions on these things, but we love them!
Apparently everyone else rode one to the brewery, too. This was the sight when we pulled up at Sun King Brewery which made us laugh. On a serious note, when we left there were only two so we clearly aren't the only ones to love these little scooters. #justsayin
Sun King Brewery was awesome. They had a large amount of beer on tap and the atmosphere was great. The building was an old warehouse that had been converted and it seemed like they literally thought of everything when designing it, including a place inside to get food.
We got a flight so we could try their top 5 beers, plus their Oktoberfest because we are getting even closer to fall! #allthepaisehands When we visit breweries, we like to get flights so that we can try more. It's also a great way to try them so that you aren't stuck with a pint of something you don't prefer.
Aside from the neat atmosphere they also had a shelf full of games... everything from board games to cards against humanity. We played connect four and agreed to call it quits after we traded off winning and losing with each other a few times.
Before we knew it, we hopped on BIRD to get back to our hotel and get ready for dinner before the concert. The brewery was right across from a winery we had visited before in Indy.
We stayed at Omni Severin for the night and it could not have been better, seriously. With checkout not until noon, we were able to check in a little before one o'clock when we arrived (before going to lunch) without having an early check in request. Their staff was great and very friendly!
0 W Jackson Place
Indianapolis, IN 46225
(317) 634-6664
It was the perfect location for the concert at Lucas Oil Stadium. If you are ever visiting Indy and going there, you cannot find a better location to stay. The accommodations were perfect.
There were plenty of options for coffee, drinks and food within the hotel. Every single thing about it was great. Oh, and we even had a room with a view.
The entire room was great! Dave took advantage to catch a few minutes of Saturday afternoon football since he's convinced it takes me a little longer to get ready. He might be right, but I like to think I'm quick!
We headed downstairs for a drink before heading to dinner. We were getting really excited for the concert, but we still had a great dinner to enjoy before getting to that. We made dinner reservations months ago for St. Elmo Steak House. This is one of our favorite restaurants in Indianapolis!
Dinner was a short walk from our perfectly located hotel. When we arrived, we were greeting with a sweet card and the staff wished us a Happy Anniversary... which is in just a couple of weeks! This was a nice touch that we really appreciated. We wasted zero time ordering the famous shrimp cocktail.
There were a few specials for the night that we took advantage of including lobster bisque and a caprese salad with fresh tomatoes from local farmers. We enjoyed both of these in addition to a 12 oz. dry-aged NY Strip to share along with green beans and a loaded baked potato. Everything was SO good!
It would have been easy to rush through dinner and keep our focus on the concert, but our server, George really made this dinner special for us. He waited on putting in orders as to not rush us, paid attention to every detail, filled our soup with tons of lobster, added another slice of tomato to make things even, gave us a plate full of green beans AND even brought us their specialty creme brulee on the house.
The whole experience, including dinner and drinks were awesome!
After wrapping up, we headed to Lucas Oil with the other thousands of Taylor Swift fans! There were people (mostly females) everywhere. We had so much fun seeing all of the mother/daughter duos, girlfriends having a night out and even some lucky dads with their little girls.
Getting through security and being filtered through lines took awhile... although during the concert we were informed that it was the biggest crowd to ever be the stadium. Go, Taylor! Here's your friendly reminder as we saw SO many bags laying around and being thrown away at security. Always, always make sure to check the restrictions when you are visiting a new city and stadium/arena for an event!
As soon as we were in, we ran to our seats to make it in time to catch as much of the opening acts as we could. Charli XCX and Camila Cabello both opened for Taylor Swift on the Reputation Tour. I mean does it really get any better than powerful, talented, driven women coming together?
We had been to a Taylor Swift concert together years ago when we were both still in college at Rupp Arena in Lexington and as unbelievable as she was then, we both agree that she has only gotten better. Taylor Swift is truly a remarkable human being AND puts on one heck of a show!
But we were dancing...
yeah, we were dancing!
She entertained for a solid TWO hours before wrapping things up. If you were wondering there was no encore or special guest, but it honestly didn't matter because the concert was so great.
One really neat thing about this tour is that as you walk in, you are handed a bracket to wear during Taylor's performance. They ended up lighting up, synchronizing with the music, lighting different areas of the stadium differently... they were SO cool! Everyone was loving them and it was sweet to see all of the little girls in the hotel lobby still proudly wearing them the next morning!
And, because we know we aren't the only Taylor Swift loving people around, are some more photos from the concert for your enjoyment...
We were elated. It was awesome. We hadn't been to a concert in a long time... too long. These were the best seats we had ever had. It honestly could not have been better, any of it!
After the show, we continued dancing the night away together right down the street from our hotel. There were lots of bars along the street here, but after stopping at Tiki Bob's we were both ready to get something else to eat and then head to bed. There was a really long line to get in on our way out... #stillyoungbutnotthatyoung
Side note... although you wouldn't have expected it by the way he looked (and we know better than to judge a book by its cover), the DJ was killing it! Following after Taylor Swift is not an easy job, but he got the job done. The music selection was on point and so were our dance moves. ;)
We made a pit stop at Hills Grill right around the corner before calling it a night. They had a full menu of all kinds of stuff, but we both got hot dogs. Just what we needed before heading to bed.
We sat outside and enjoyed people watching before heading back to the Omni. By then the hotel had settled down from everyone after the concert. It was the greatest day, followed by the most fun night. Seriously! We always have a good time together, but we made this little 24 hours in Indianapolis count.
The next morning we got up and had coffee and breakfast in bed before getting the car and heading home. After our big night out this was the perfect way to wake up easy, enjoy fresh coffee and talk about how much fun we had. We had been looking forward to this weekend in Indy for months, and every single detail of it exceeded our expectations. It was a night for the books! Thank you, Taylor Swift!
Always, always, always check bag restrictions for stadiums/arenas before heading to something located there. We saw way too many bags laying around and people scrambling at security.
If you're planning to be in a specific city for something and wanting to eat at a particular restaurant, go ahead and make your reservations for that too. The earlier, the better in this case.
Stay at a hotel that is conveniently located. Even if the cost is a little more, it usually makes up for the difference with convenience. It was the best feeling to valet the car and not see it again until we left.
No comments