Hangin' With Madison

My time in Madison, WI may have been brief, but it was still full of adventure. I had two main days of exploration, the first of which being Thursday, November 6th and the second of which being on Saturday, November 8th.

I started Thursday with a mission: I was going to explore the University of Wisconsin at Madison... And if I got to see the Olbritch Botanical Gardens, too, that would be great! As I arrived in the downtown Madison area, I started scanning for parking. Unfortunately, there is virtually no free parking in downtown Madison, but before it got to me, I saw that there was a UWM visitor parking garage, and it was basically $1/hour.

Riding of the high of getting good parking, I began my walk. Now before I dive into what I saw, I have a confession to make: UWM is easily my least favorite college campus that I've explored so far. To be clear, it isn't a bad campus and it did keep me busy, but it is rather generic. Not only is the campus right in the middle of downtown Madison, but you practically can't even tell it's there. All of the buildings and architecture blend right in with the rest of the city, so I often found myself wondering which structures were actually part of the campus itself. However, with all that in mind, I still got some fun pictures from my morning walk.

Enjoying the structures at UWM

What's the Divine Nine?

Oh, it's a series of fraternities and sororities... Wow!

Note: Maybe it's just me, but calling a series of fraternities and sororities "divine" seems pretty overkill. I guess they're just really into campus culture.

Is that the Madison Capitol in the background?

Checking out a church at UWM

Chillin' in front of the Wisconsin Historical Society building

I love me my motorcycles... Even completely metal ones

Probably the coolest piece of architecture on the campus

Taking a rest on Bascom Hill

Trying to capture the Madison skyline

Hanging out on a rooftop terrace

In addition to the rather generic colleg campus, I also made a major mistake as I left the downtown area. When I entered the parking garage I was given a ticket that would let me leave the building. However, at some point during my stroll, the ticket fell out of my pocket and was lost for good. I was fortunate enough to discover you could get a replacement ticket, but unfortunate enough to learn that the replacement ticket would cost me $20. I was pretty bummed, especially considering how fair the parking garage costs were, but alas, the only person I had to blame was myself.

After leaving the downtown area, I drove to the Olbritch community park. Once there, I made lunch to energize for the next leg of my Thursday adventure-the Olbritch Botanical Gardens. Once I had finished my meal and done my dishes, I walked over to the gardens. I think it's fair to say that these were probably the coolest botanical gardens I've ever been to. The gardens have lots of fun little structures and courtyards that help frame the greenery in a way that really highlights their beauty. However, as beautiful as the other structures were, the standout was easily the Thai Pavillion and the Thai Gardens (4th photo down).

Really appreciating this courtyard in the Olbritch Gardens

Really neat structures in the botanical gardens

Chilling on the bridge in the botanical gardens

Having my mind blown by the Thai Pavillion

Trying to capture a pretty shot in the botanical gardens

Thursday's adventure may have ended at the Olbritch Botanical Gardens, but Saturday's adventure began at the bus stop right next to the Olbritch community park. One of the most popular attractions in Madison is the Capitol, a giant government building where community representatives from all over Wisconsin state hold meetings. Since I was in the area, I figured I should probably see it. However, since the Capitol is downtown, I figured it would be most cost effective to ride Metro Transit into Capitol Square.

Waiting for Metro Transit to take me to the capitol

Riding the C route bus to the capitol

When I got to Capitol Square, I was happy to find a neat surprise. Since it was Saturday, the Madison Saturday Market was being held. Luckily for me, it was being held in the Capitol Square! I want to be clear, I was really impressed by the outside of the Capitol-it was quite beautiful-but I felt that I should check out the market first. I didn't end up buying anything, but of all the markets I've seen on my trip, this was by far the best. There were actually genuinely good looking baked goods and veggies. It was really refreshing to walk through a market and not have every stand be of the jewelry variety. However, eventually the spectacle of the Capitol building got to me and-after a taking couple photos-I had to go inside.

Being astonished by the grandeur of the Madison capitol

Getting a picture as I walked around the capitol

Now the photos that you about to see definitely include some cool things, but they are nothing compared to actually seeing the inside of the Capitol. This is probably the prettiest building I've ever been in and I would recommend seeing the Capitol to anyone who was passing through Madison. Not only is it completely free, but if you come on the weekend, the tour will let you into a bunch of normally closed meeting rooms-including the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the Wisconsin Senate. I learned tons of cool facts during my groups tour, but won't spoil any of it for you. If you're a history lover, this is a must see.

Time to see the inside

Being struck by the Wisconsin Supreme Court meeting room

I guess I'm a Wisconsin Senator now!

Getting a great view of Madison from the viewing terrace at the Capitol

Trying to capture the beauty of the Madison Capitol... And failing

Chilling in the capitol after an awesome tour

Saying goodbye to the capitol!

Overall, my time in Madison was super neat and kinda encapsulates the perfect stop on my trip. Not only did I get to work out and work on the blog, but I also got to spend plenty of time seeing plenty of free things. They may not have all been spectacular, but I definitely wouldn't take back any of the time I spent on any of them!