My friend Roberta and I woke up early in our room at The
Graduate Madison
hotel. We both had full days in this Wisconsin capitol, even
though it wasn’t all together.
I loved our room at The Graduate. It’s got a dorm room look,
but certainly upgraded from what I shared with two other women (only for a
semester, then I decided to get my own apartment).
The beds had cute pillows labeled, “Brat” and “Curd,” old-fashioned
phones and notebooks, and even a unique clock.
We had a light breakfast downstairs at the Portage Pi coffee
shop before heading to the
Henry Vilas Zoo.
Not only is this zoo impressive, but there is no charge for
admission or parking. I love the idea of exposing children to animals.
As a small child, my grandmother used to take me all the
time to the (then free) Bronx Zoo. I think that has a lot to do with my love of
all types of creatures even today.
This zoo is set up for the same experience with a Children’s
Zoo that includes goats and red pandas. There is also a carousel and a train
ride (for $2).
We were in awe as we watched the polar bears put on a show
for us (video below). Then we visited the African lion, brown bears, and tigers before we
left.
I headed to the tennis tournament for a few hours while
Roberta explored more of
Madison, Wisconsin, which included more free attractions.
Overture also has galleries and Roberta walked through and
saw some paintings housed there.
She then strolled through downtown to photograph the Capitol
Building in daytime. It looked very different from the night before, but the
architecture is still striking.
Next was the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, which has interesting
exhibits dating back hundreds of years.
Among them are displays honoring Wisconsin and the Civil War,
the Philippine War, the Spanish-American War, World War I & II, and the Vietnam
War, The Veterans Museum also examines the War on Terror and
looks at years of Look at weapons, uniforms, medical equipment, and the
evolution of medicines.
The
State Historical Museum is another stop worth making in
Madison. It looks at Native Americans in Wisconsin, the dairy and auto
industries here, and the effects of historical events, such as the Suffrage
Movement and the Great Depression.
After Roberta left downtown, she drove by Lake Mendota and
watched the ice fisherman and hockey players on the frozen lake. It’s a site
fairly limited to Wisconsin Winter.
She then picked me up at the University of Wisconsin, where
I was covering a tennis tournament, and we headed back to
The Graduate Hotel
.
We had dinner at the Graduate’s rooftop restaurant,
The Madison Blind.
We started with a cocktail while we looked over the menu.
The Madison Blind uses local ingredients so the menu changes
often. We enjoyed the meatballs, cheese dip, a beet goat cheese salad with
orange slices, and a black angus burger.
The desserts were too good to pass up. The Chocolate Banana
Hand Pie, with vanilla ice cream, and the Profiteroles were scrumptious.
I always like dinner in hotel restaurants because I don’t
have to get in a car and go anywhere after.
This was especially true as we were
both exhausted for the day, and had much more to come in
Madison.
We started with a cocktail while we looked over the menu. 
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