Turkish Delight

Walk Location: Indianapolis, IN
Time of Day: Early evening
Temperature: 80 degrees
Steps: 4,500

Claudia did a marvelous job in her keynote presentation and in her workshop today, and now the conference is over. It is always a strange feeling to attend a communal event and then be “left behind” as the “community” disperses. But at least neither of us are alone here, so we are enjoying our time together. With our large family and multiple responsibilities at home, we have too few times for just the two of us to be together, so this is a treat.

We are car-less, so we decide to walk a few blocks away to find dinner. Claudia has declared that the trip has, to this point, been all about her, so she wants me to decide where we eat. One of the cool features of my (relatively new) iPhone is an application that uses the built-in GPS to determine area destinations. All you need to do is to open “iWant” and select the icon related to your goal (for example, gas station or clothing store or drug store, and of course, restaurant), and in seconds a list is presented on the iPhone that offers options in your category.



I decided that tonight we would step out of our comfort zone and try the Café Istanbul, a Turkish restaurant. Its unlikely location is in a strip mall, but its ambiance is soothingly striking. We ate early tonight so we were the only diners in the whole café. After an appetizer of hummus (pureed chickpeas with garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice) which we enjoyed with warm, fresh pita we launched into our entrée. We both ordered the Turkish gyros, which consisted of rice pilaf, fresh stir-fried vegetables and the beef and lamb that characterizes gyro.

The meat was less spicy than I am accustomed to in a gyro, but its subtle flavoring was quite tasty. I was able to eat my entrée in its entirety (sadly that’s a typical experience) but Claudia brought back to the hotel half of hers.

The walk itself was routine. We walked the distance buffeted by heavy, rush hour Friday night traffic to our side, so our conversation was limited and a bit disjointed at times. There is little for the eyes to see, but it is always good to get in the steps.

I look forward to our return home and the opportunity to walk the trails of my community with their greenery and solitude.