Local, Near and Far: Our journey of exploring the world.

Tag: Fiddler’s Hearth

In Case You Missed It…South Bend

Every couple weeks we’ll be collecting links from past posts grouped together by location; we thought it handy to have everything in on
e convenient location as you plan your upcoming travels. We just finished a short series on South Bend, so here’s your recap:

Studebaker2

Studebaker National Museum: The Studebaker National Museum boasts an impressive collection of cars, traveling exhibits (that includes other automakers), and the largest Presidential Carriage Collection anywhere.

NotreDame3Notre Dame & The Snite Museum of Art: Notre Dame boasts a beautiful campus with majestic architecture in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and Golden Dome on top of the Main Building and the Snite Museum of Art for the art lover.

Fiddler’s Hearth Public House: Based on a recommendation in South Bend, IN we happily enjoyed the fish & chips, Beef Wellington, and cozy atmosphere at The Fiddler’s Hearth.

The College Football Hall of Fame: The College Football Hall of Fame is a fun way to spend a morning or afternoon and is family friendly, educational, and entertaining. It is also great for the football lover and the historian.College Football HOF

J.W. Chen’s Chinese Cuisine: If you’re in South Bend and looking for a delightful Asian restaurant with excellent customer service, we highly recommend J.W. Chen’s Chinese Cuisine.

Fiddler’s Hearth Public House

As I was planning our excursion to South Bend, IN, I shared the itinerary with my mother and how we were excited to get away. She was glad we were able to go and was also able to give us a restaurant recommendation! Knowing both Matt and I’s love for unique locations and places that have a lot of craft beers on tap, she shared that we must visit Fiddler’s Hearth.

In an effort to not have to drive in less than pleasant conditions or find parking, we decided to take the 5 block walk from our hotel to the restaurant. I believe we mentioned in a previous post how it happened to be February, cold, and very snowy.  The Fiddler’s Hearth was a welcome sight for us; even in the short walk, and already hungry before we left, we had ravenous appetites and welcomed the warmth of the restaurant.

Fiddler's Hearth

Beef Wellington and Fish & Chips

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South Bend, IN Overview

The first year or so of our time in Chicago was HARD. It was challenging physically, emotionally, spiritually; we were in our first year of marriage, I had some health issues that cropped up, and Matt was learning a very demanding job. We frequently (about once a month) took short trips for quick weekend escapes. It was during this time that we felt rested and enjoyed connecting with each other as we explored new places together.

We decided on a whim on a Monday that we would go out of town the following weekend. We didn’t know where or what we would do, we just knew we needed to get away. So, I set to researching! As I started to plan our trip, I checked the forecast and saw we could be in for some snow. But, it was Monday, so I set to planning with the thought in mind that “we won’t go far”.

Looking at a map to determine what “far” meant, I saw South Bend, IN. It wasn’t huge on the map but also not so small that there wouldn’t be things to do there. So, I set to researching to see if I could set an itinerary. Yelp and TripAdvisor (otherwise known as my trip planning BFFs) listed several restaurants we could try as well as things to do. After doing some research, I shared our potential itinerary with Matt. He was initially reluctant because…well, it honestly wasn’t that exciting on paper. But, it was going to be a short trip, and really we just wanted to get away, so we decided to move forward. Matt found a hotel and I worked on getting all the other details together.

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