Because COVID had put a damper on travel for so long, my boyfriend Matt and I were desperately ready to get out and do something new–even if it meant just tripping somewhere down the road. So, on a nice fall weekend, we decided to hop in the car and make the 4-hour drive north to Madison, Wisconsin (home of the University of Wisconsin) for a one-night little getaway. We both love visiting new college campuses, and we’d heard that this one was one of the most beautiful.
When we first drove into the city, we went straight downtown to check out the Saturday market and (eventually) find a place to eat for lunch. We walked a circle around the State Capitol, which was pretty majestic, and perused the various vendors selling clothes, jewelry, and a LOT of cheese.
After we’d sufficiently explored the area and admired the fall foliage, we walked across the street to hit up a restaurant we’d heard had the best cheese curds in Wisconsin: The Old Fashioned.
Matt is from England, and I’m from the southern US, so neither of us is a cheese curd expert by any means. But, we will say: they were the best cheese curds we’ve ever had.
After feeling sufficiently satisfied from our classic midwestern lunch, we set out on foot toward the university campus, which is well and truly incorporated into the downtown landscape.
We loved so many things about the area, but mostly that it was on the water. Living in cornfield-locked Urbana-Champaign, Matt and I both sorely miss having water like that nearby.
We had to get some iconic pictures with the Wisconsin Badger, of course, as well as the beautiful main library and a hilly green space in the middle of campus.
After an afternoon of exploring, we decided to call it a night to rest our tired feet, order in some dinner, and hit the hay.
The next morning, we had one more stop we wanted to make before heading back home. When we’d looked up the top things to do in Madison, something that kept coming up was the Olbrich Botanical Gardens. Since this trip was a little romantic getaway, we thought walking through some lovely gardens might be the perfect addition.
What we didn’t expect was just how stunning the gardens actually were, even in the midwestern fall (when the plants really struggle in the cold). Not only were the gardens extremely well kept and beautifully designed, but there were a variety of interesting architectural sights along the way that had us feeling like we were stepping in and out of different time periods and places.
Our favorite part of the gardens, though, was the Thai Pavilion and Gardens, which reminded us of our dream vacation (which we’re hoping to take in the summer of 2024).
Overall, it was a truly wonderful experience, and we loved having the gardens mostly to ourselves since it was a bit of a frigid and overcast day. We wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Dream in Blue & Green 