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Local Information

Travel information

Please fly to the Indianapolis Airport (IND). Be sure that you do NOT buy a ticket for Bloomington, Illinois, since that is in a different state and is several hours away by car.

From the airport, there are several ways to get to Bloomington. There is a shuttle called Go Express. It costs $29, and the schedule is posted here. There is also Uber/Lyft/taxi service; the cost is $100 or more. One can also rent a car at the airport. If you take the shuttle it can take you either straight to the university or to one of the hotels downtown. So you will want to look ahead to see which stop to get off at. Please be aware that the last shuttle departure from the airport is at 10:40 pm. So if your flight arrives after that, you will either need to stay at an airport hotel or else pay for a more expensive transportation option to Bloomington. Similarly, the earliest airport arrival on Fridays is 7:30am, and on Saturday it would be 8:30am.

If you are leaving on Saturday and you don't have a shuttle ticket, you will have a problem getting to the airport. Please check with the local team to arrange a ride.

Where to stay in Bloomington

Staying in one of the downtown hotels should be optimal. Here are some options:

  • Grant St Inn, especially if you want a bed-and-breakfast place. The distance to our meeting is 0.5 miles. The Grant St Inn cannot accommodate us all, and you might need (or prefer) a different option. But if you want to book this, mention Indiana University and the conference, and you should be able to get a good discount.

  • Graduate Hotel This hotel offers rooms for our meeting at $129/night. This would be for people who plan on leaving on Friday, June 23. (At the time of this writing, they have no rooms left on Friday night.) The distance to our meeting is 0.5 miles. This is a usual hotel rather than a bed-and-breakfast, but there is an option to buy a breakfast in an adjoining restaurant.

Other options which are also very walkable:

These are all a convenient walk (15-20 minutes) from the campus. You can stay less expensively farther away. You can also stay with airbnb. This means staying in someone's home, either in a bedroom or in the entire house. This can be a lot less expensive than a hotel. If you do this, be sure about the location and about all the details of the property. A final option might be the campus hotel. As hotels go, this is pretty basic. It would be the most convenient location. When we last checked with them, they had no rooms left during the time of the meeting.

Location of talks and other events

The meeting will mainly be held in Lindley Hall, near the corner of Woodlawn Avenue and Third St. If you are looking at a map of Bloomington and the campus, this is in the southwest corner of campus. Another map may be found here.

The coffee breaks will be one building away, in Rawles Hall 107.

The talks on Wednesday afternoon are in Luddy Hall 1104 and 1106. Please note that Luddy Hall is not the same as Lindley Hall!

The Monday reception is at the FAR Arts Center, 202 S. Rogers St. People will be walking from the main conference session to the reception.

The Wednesday dinner is at the Upland Brewery, 350 W 11th St. Please note that the dinner is in the Wood Room, not the main restaurant.

More about Bloomington and what to do while in town

Please see this video for a look at Bloomington.

Indiana University is famous for its music and arts scene. At the time of this posting, we do not have an IU events calendar, but we will post links to one when it becomes available.

People staying over the weekend might like to see a local hiking guide.

Pharmacy

The closest pharmacy to IU and most of the hotels is CVS on the corner of Kirkwood and Washington.

Wifi on the IU campus

The university generally has wifi in all buildings, using the eduroam network. Please be sure that your computer is set up with eduroam before you arrive.

Restaurant guides

Here is a list of local restaurants with descriptions. Here is another list, due to Russ Lyons. His list includes ratings, but it's somewhat out-of-date: several restaurants on the list have since closed. Finally, you could consult yelp.com's list of top Bloomington restaurants for a list of yet other choices, espcially nicer dining options for dinner.

Breakfast suggestions

Bloomington Bagels Their location on Dunn St is very close to the campus. We'll use their bagels on Tuesday and Thursday morning.

The Inkwell on Woodlawn: the closest coffee shop to the conference location. It's the source of the coffee and scones at the conference on MWF, and it also has sandwiches and breakfast items.

Runcible Spoon: Nice outdoor seating. Good choice for breakfast, and also lunch, or dinner.

Village Deli On Kirkwood, with some outdoor seating. As with the Runcible Spoon, they serve standard (i.e., very large) American breakfasts.

Lunch suggestions

Here is a list of favorite places for lunch, all within 10-15 minutes walking of the conference. These don't include any national chains (we recommend that you avoid these).

Anyestang's Little Tibet. Tibetan food, a rare treat in the US. Also Thai and Indian dishes.

Big Woods Bloomington: Pizza, burgers, etc., attached to the Quaff ON! brewery.

Dagwood's Deli Sub Shop: sandwich shop very convenient to the conference location.

The Inkwell on Woodlawn: the closest coffee shop to the conference location. It's the source of the coffee and scones at the conference on MWF, and it also has sandwiches and breakfast items.

Lennie's: on Kirkwood with outside seating and a more upscale indoor atomosphere than most on this list.

Mother Bear's Pizza: pizza place close to the conference, very popular with IU students.

Nick's English Hut: Bar Food. Iconic college bar atmosphere. Outdoor seating in the summer.

Owlery: Bloomington's all-vegetarian restaurant. On the town square, near the northwest corner.

Runcible Spoon: Nice outdoor seating. Good choice for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Rush Hour Station: Vietnamese-oriented place. It is in a strip mall, but don't let that dissuade you from it.

Samira: Afghan restaurant on the square. Canonical place to take seminar speakers and other visitors.