In the state of cheese!

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Trip Start Mar 13, 2009 Previous
Entry Trip End May 01, 2009

  Madison, Wisconsin
Sunday, April 19, 2009

I spent most of yesterday riding the bus from the Twin Cities to Madison, and saw countless water towers and cheese billboards along the way. I knew I wanted to come through Wisconsin (yes, mostly for the cheese!), but I wasn't sure about Milwaukee - another large Amercian city to be seen between Minneapolis and Chicago. I opted to visit the capital of Madison instead, partly for its many claims to "fame"; most cyclable city, most pedestrian-friendly, gay-friendly, vegetarian-friendly, environment-friendly, and altogether friendliest place in the country. It's also the birthplace of the satyrical newspaper "The Onion." All the statements I could verify turned out to be true. Every street in the city is framed by large inviting sidewalks, and the size of its core is easily explored on foot. All the people I encountered were also very friendly and helpful - even those walking down the street seemed happy. And quite telling of Madison's mindset, I was greeted at the hostel by a sign that read "this is a free environment - please take off your shoes."

Once I got settled into my dormroom, I went out to buy groceries. On my walk to and from the supermarket, the streets were calm but not empty. It was a warm Spring day and people were having drinks on sidewalk patios, in no apparent hurry to be anywhere else but simply content to be where they were. Others were playing frisbee on the lawn of the State Capitol (which has the largest dome in the USA). Back at the hostel, I made my first real meal in a hostel kitchen that wasn't pasta or previously frozen. The well-stocked pantry allowed me to make chicken fried rice without having to buy all the necessary ingredients (what would I do with a whole bottle of soya sauce?).

Madison seemed so inviting that I was in the mood to explore its nightlife, but I don't enjoy doing that alone. Coincidentally, I met Jenna and Dan who invited me to join them for drinks. Dan studied at the University of Madison and lived in the city for several years so he knew his way around. We headed down State St, the city's main strip, which was filled with students out on the town, probably just having finished their semester. We started with a margarita then went to the lakefront university terrace bar. After a large plastic jug of local beer, we checked out a few more places along University Ave before last call. I'm always hungry after a few drinks, so we stopped at Ian's, a famous and very busy local pizza place, where I tried a slice of their taco pizza (they also have Mac & Cheese and buffalo chicken).

When planning my itinerary, I made sure to be in Madison for the Saturday Dane County Farmers Market which overtakes Capitol Square, but then noticed in my guidebook that it opens in May. Someone must have warned the city that a market-lover was coming, because as it so happens, today was the market's opening day! Probably as a result of this opening, combined with the sunny 25-degree weather, crowds of people gathered around the State Capitol. The market offers everything from Wisconsin cheese and bison meat to organic dog treats and tye-dye everythings. I spent the afternoon walking through the university campus and along the waterfront. The weather changed by early evening, becoming grey, windy and rainy, which was the perfect excuse to stay in and get my laundry done!

The smaller city of Madison was a nice change of pace from Minneapolis, and I can only love a place with a great outdoor market. I'm taking the bus once again tomorrow (I am getting sick of it!), this time heading to Chicago, which will be my last American stop. The forecast calls for rain during my entire visit to the Windy City though, which might restrict what I can explore.

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