Madison, Wisconsin Trip

Hello friends! I’m back, all charged up and refreshed after our super fun Madison, Wisconsin trip. I cannot wait to share the pics with you guys and tell you all about this beautiful little charming town. My husband and I visited Madison this past weekend to celebrate our five year wedding anniversary. He is an alumni of university of Madison,WI and wanted to show me his university town since the time we got married but for some reason our trip always got postponed cause of weather or work. This year we finally decided to go in spring and boy oh boy! what a gorgeous time to visit this place. I would also recommend fall (to see the fall colors) just before the cold kicks in. Also this was my first experience staying with Airbnb ( details below) A big thanks to designlovefest for the discount! you can grab one too here!
I would love to share every tiny detail of the trip with you guys but I have tried my best to keep it short and show you more of the pictures than listen to my jabber. First up are the beautiful old stone buildings I spotted in this town. University of Madison is pretty huge and consists of old and new buildings. My favorite one’s were the red/brown brick buildings with the ivy climbing all over.

Next are the houses. It was so refreshing to see houses having their own charm and character. We rarely get to see that here in Houston. I was also impressed with the use of color. There were a lot of German & Scandinavian influences on the designs too.
Speaking of houses, this was the first time I booked an apartment through Airbnb. It was a great experience! The location of the apt was right in the heart of downtown, so convenient and was in a great neighborhood with lots of tall trees and lake mendota on one side. It was also graduation weekend and the city was crowded than usual but it was so much fun to see students walking in their robes and hats, posing for pictures with their families.

For other half of our trip we decided to stay in another place just for fun and also so we could see the other part of town which was on the banks of lake manona. Hotel Ruby Marie is super cozy and one of the quirkiest hotels I have stayed in so far. It is one of the oldest hotels in Madison built in the 1800s as a railroad hotel but has been renovated and restored over time. It kind of has a spooky feel but let me tell you the hotel staff is super friendly and very accommodating. They also serve breakfast in a cafe (over looking the lake)downstairs where the owner bakes special items for the guests every morning. They have restaurants/pubs downstairs which also includes a german place called Essen Haus.

On the first day we strolled around the streets , saw the campus, ate at a local place called buck and badger ( great cheese curds )and went to the zoo. The next day we ate breakfast at Mickies dairy bar (highly recommend this). I am also sharing a picture of the menu they serve. The serving portions are ginormous so work up an appetite before you go. Also in the pic below you will see a space created for university students to study/lounge where they have managed to bring outdoors in literally! ( those are real trees )

The Olbrich Botanical Gardens was next on our list. For the most part we just walked the streets instead of doing a lot of touristy stuff . I think that’s the best way you could explore a city/town. I must admit though that at the end of the day my legs had totally given up but it was all worth it. The day ended with sipping beer ( spotted cow- local ) on the pier at Memorial Union terrace listening to live music. You guys also have to try the cocktails at Merchant Madison (one of the best I ever had )

The final day we saw the beautiful Arboretum but did not have enough time to see the whole thing. All in all it was super fun trip and a much needed break. Lots of things in store for you guys from next week ! so stay tuned!

For those of you who liked my outfits , you can get the triangle print top, the orange shirt, white top and the sandals at loft. They are super comfy and light. Best for travel and summer.
Weekend is almost here and we are going camping!! I know two trips back-to-back . But I have decided to keep an open mind and travel as much as I can this year. Somehow it motivates me to work better. Follow along on instagram to see the all the fun!
What are your plans for the long weekend?