Since I took so many pictures on Day 2 of the Easter Weekend road trip I took with my roommate to Wisconsin I split up the posts for the day. Did you miss Part 1 of the Madison post, read it HERE.After the farmer's market we headed to Daisy Cafe for lunch-- I've been there before and ordered the same delicious sandwich, a chicken burger made of ground chicken, roasted tomatoes, cheese and bacon, YUM. Sadly no pictures from the cafe but we did take quite a few in a little neighborhood lined with coffee shops and boutiques, situated on a 4-block stretch of Monroe Street. I'm not even sure what the pointing hand sign was advertising or the shop associated with it, just knew we had to take a goofy photo with it! I also wouldn't mind having that sign in my home... hrm.
This little painted backdrop was in honor of Easter/spring and was in the window of a quaint looking pharmacy.
Our main purpose for going to the area was to visit the Grace Chosey art gallery. The gallery has showcased contemporary regional and national art since the 1970s. The picture above is a detail of a panoramic painting done by Tricia's professor. Unfortunately I don't remember his name and can't find the information on the gallery website. :(
Thankfully I photographed the title tag for the above piece which is by Christine Echtner. Both Adeline & I enjoyed her style and subject matter, I thought this painting had a retro feel with the bathing cap. I was also drawn to her use of texture, in this case the sequins, and the way the water/beach has become abstract.
Pretty much in love with that clock; here I am posing on Monroe street not far from the gallery.
After the gallery we continued our perusal of art downtown at the Museum of Contemporary Art. On the way there we happened across the very humorous marquee at The Orpheum. Okay, Cake (the band) seems normal then you're hit with "EVIL BONG 3D". Really, 3D? Is that necessary?
Unfortunately no photographs are allowed in the museum so we took advantage of the rooftop sculpture garden to take in a view of the city. Yay more peeks of sunshine!
I was drawn to this chaotic sculpture made out of PVC piping-- it has a sense of kinetic energy and movement despite being a static piece.
While by the museum we popped into a few boutiques including Little Luxuries, a shop carrying whimsical items for the home and to wear. The little bird whistle and the glasses case made of silicon were both found there (sadly neither came home with me). Just a few stores down is Anthology, a wonderfully cozy store chock full of locally made cards, jewelry, posters and trinkets. It reminded me of the Renegade store in Chicago.
The trinket dishes pictured above and below were just my style, they are stamped ceramic pieces. The prices were reasonable but I resisted purchasing them as I already have a ridiculous amount of knicknackery in my apartment already.
After all that walking we needed a cool beverage, Tricia & Steve took us to one of their favorite watering holes, Paul's Club, in the downtown area. It has a slight dive bar feel (in a good way), drinks were cheap and there was a GIANT tree in the middle of the bar. No, it wasn't alive but it looked quite real.
We ended the night with dinner & drinks at The Old Fashioned, right by The Capitol. It's actually a Wisconsin-themed restaurant so for an appetizer we got deep fried cheese curds (!), drank beer (I ordered a raspberry flavored one) and munched on delights like a double bratwurst. On the walls were old beer signs and displays from now defunct breweries.
Read about the rest of the trip, DAY 1: Milwaukee and DAY 2: Madison (part 1).