Normal to Madison and around

So we were still being Normal on Friday morning. Here is a Normal Alice in front of the Normal Post Office. There was also a Normal police car and the Normal children's museum. For more we saw, see Alice's blog entry.

We left Normal at about 4pm to head to Madison. It was 3.5 hours and had a beautiful sunset. Of course it was behind corn and soy fields that are in various stages of harvest.

In Madison, Alice and Steve were busy so on Saturday we met up with an old friend of mine, Robin, who I went on exchange to Norway with. We were going to meet at the best farmers' market in the US which is right around the capitol building and is AMAZING. Unfortunately we missed her there, but caught up at about 10:30. Robin had a bike so we rented bikes and went for a ride. We saw State Street which is great. Madison is really liberal. (I don't think we're in the midwest anymore Toto!) There are very interesting shops and there was a legalise marihuana concert all weekend in Library Mall which is a free stage and area popular for free speech.

We rode down to picnic point and walked out to the end to see the view of the city over Lake Mendota.


Back up State Street and to the Capitol building. This is where the market was on the four immediate surrounding streets.

This is the dome inside. Pretty trippy to stand and look up at it.



One of the four streets around Capitol Hill is Mifflin St! (I know 2 fs, but cool!)

And this is one of the cool buildings on Mifflin St.

We ate dinner with Robin at the Old Fashioned which has some typical German-Wisconsin food and of course like all places here, some local beer.

Sunday we slept in after such an early morning Saturday. We took the shuttle back to State St where we attempted to get breakfast at 10:40am. We did not know that nothing opens until 11am so we walked up and down a couple of times. After food we walked up and down a few times waiting for 12pm when the shoe shop opened. Then we waited 1/2 hour for her to arrive. She got Llew 2 for the price of 1 crocs so along with his blue ones he now has orange and red ones!

Then we walked down to the University of Wisconsin and sat on the famous terrace. Alice met us there after putting Steve on the bus to Normal via Chicago. This is the only Union in the counrty to sell beer. It's a lovely spot overlooking the lake. Her father, as a professor here, joined us.


Alice took us for a drive around the university and up to observation hill where there is (der) an observatory, and also a great view.


We drove around and saw a Frank Lloyd Wright church (later post) and this Frank Lloyd Wright house.

This was another interesting house in the neighbourhood.

This evening we went to a great diner out west. We had to go early because even as we left at just after 6 there were people waiting.

So it has been a busy few days. We have tomorrow morning here before heading to Milwaukee.