weekend in Madison

[low_delta]

It is around the anniversary of our meeting. This can be measured variously, but it was all in December 2000. So I proposed a weekend getaway, and we got a nice hotel room in Madison. I recommend the Madison Concourse Hotel. We stayed there in September. I think it's a little better priced than the big chain hotels, and just as nice. This time, we stayed in the Governor's Club, which is the top three floors. They have a private lounge, with complimentary breakfast, hors d'oeuvres and drinks. It was expensive, but nice, since we didn't have to leave the hotel for breakfast, nor pay room service rates. And free drinks at the bar in the evening. And dessert. It was also expensive, because we had a big air-jet tub. And there was champagne.


Anyway, on saturday morning, we went to the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art on State Street. We wandered up and down the street, stopping in a used book store, the hat shop, and a couple other places. Picked up some CDs and some Scotch, as christmas presents. We ate lunch at Chautara, an Indian/Himalayan kind of place. Excellent.



After lunch, we drove up to Olbrich Botanical Gardens. The outdoor gardens are closed this time of year, but the conservatory is open. It's a tropical environment. Orchids, palm trees and such. And a waterfall and stream, with koi.


Then we drove down to the UW Aboretum. It's basically a large park, with hiking, biking and ski trails. We wanted to see the Indian mounds, but (in winter, apparently) it's a long hike to them. We found a nice little spot by a couple of ponds, and took a shorter walk.



Then we went back to the hotel, and walked over to Buraka, an African restaurant. It's very good. I think there were a total of four other people there. Disappointing, since it's so good, and also not too expensive (except for the wine). I guess they're hard to find - they're downstairs, so they don't have street frontage, only a doorway.

We were home by noon today, and went over to my sister's for a christmas gathering with my dad, and stepmom and her family.

Comments

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

The photo of the woman reading in the restaurant is very good, Kevin. Shooting from the hip again?
;)
The book shelves are atmospheric!
And hey...Manolo had a parka like Cyn's (but in green) when we lived in Madison so long ago. Some styles never change.
:D

[likethebeer.livejournal.com]

Those are all wonderful photos. I can never figure out how you get the light so that it's not washed out or pitch black (well, having a good camera, and a person who knows how to use it, is part of it).

I'm going to take your Arboretum photo of the benches, just because it's really cool.

As for Buraka - don't worry. They're never full, and they've been there for about a decade. They probably make up their money with the kiosk they have on the library mall in the spring, summer, and fall (the mall is at the end of State Street opposite of the state capitol). They must sell a lot during that time.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

Shooting from the hip? Not really. I shot that one four times. :-)

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

There's a different version of the benches in facebook and flickr, if you can find me there.

A good camera may be part of it. Photoshop helps a little. And also knowing or recognizing which shots will be all washed out or pitch black, and not taking or showing those.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

And she never even noticed?

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

No. I don't think she ever looked up from her book or food. Don't know if the people behind her noticed. I was using the little camera, and had it sitting on the table (as a tripod). It's a lot less obtrusive. The only downside to stealth photography with the little camera is the focusing light.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14542870@N03/5276413122/