A Bike Ride to the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the Oldfields House

     With a stress fracture comes a very small list of approved activities, one of which is "leisurely riding my bike to class."  Well, I get a little stir crazy when I seem to be the only college student who finished all her homework on Friday...
     I extended that permission to the scope of riding my bike around the area, figuring that I'm good as long as it doesn't hurt my hip (RELATED: When Things Aren't So Easy).  Last week, I went to the Indianapolis Museum of Art, which is only like two miles from Butler's campus.  I didn't hang around though, but was rather in the mood to just ride around.  However, I was intent on returning.  After twenty minutes of pacing my dorm-- while complaining about how bored I was-- and probably annoying my roommates, I decided to just hop on my bike and go to the museum.  I had seen there were home tours of the historic mansion going on today, so that was my aim. I made sure to take lots of pictures!  I'll have to go back though because there was so much more-- heck: I didn't even make it to the actual museum (and although I'm not a big "artsy" person, it was fun to explore around).

First up was locking my bike, which I have gotten quite fast at doing with my three weeks of college experience.

Then, I headed to the Oldfields House, a 1910s mansion that was most recently home to the Lilly family (founders of Eli Lilly and Company) and their 40+ full time servant staff!  It is now owned by the museum and the give FREE tours.

I'll tell you upfront: I'm not a fan of old-fashioned houses.  But I LOVE houses in general, and it's cool to see how people lived in the past.  This library for instance, was so neat!

The parlour off of the library-- one of many rooms that seemed to hold the same stuff chairs and the same purpose.  It must've been so weird to live back then!

I loved this hallway.  It overlooked a beautiful veranda over the canal.  Gorgeous views!

The unique artwork on the other side of the hallway.

This was the Butler's pantry area.  There were also separate bathrooms, bedrooms and eating areas for the staff.  Additionally, there is a third story ballroom that's used for weddings but closed to the public.  I wanted so badly to sneak up there and see the views :)

Here's a look out onto the veranda.  I can just imagine having a morning tea and fruit out there... ahhh.  That would be the life!  The Lilly family had three other homes though, and I'm sure their Cape Cod house won out as far as view is concerned.

The furniture in the upstairs portion of the house was all sold before the house and land were donated, so the upstairs serves as the more informative part of the tour.  It was cool to see where the kids slept and where the family lived though.  Mr. Lilly had his own bedroom and his own study-- complete with a secret spiral staircase!

It reminds me of Nancy Drew stuff.  My inner detective was dying to really tour this house, but alas: the museum would frown upon that, and I have to go back to see the rest of the grounds.

Speaking of the grounds, here's a cool map that shows just how big the area is.

 And now for the outdoor landscape:

I loved this picturesque water area.  Seems like the perfect place to come and write. 

Here's a view of the canal, which has an awesome path we run along for practice.  It goes for about 20 odd miles, and into the city of Indy.

A look back at the house.

Gorgeous fountain in the formal garden area

Just another sky view that reminds me how awesome God is!

And the path continues.... I'll have to go back again soon!