To back up a little bit, the trip started on Saturday morning at 4:30 AM. Indeed a very early starting time, but after eating a fried egg and attempting to wake myself up with some tea, we hit the road at the intended departure time of 5 AM. We had an eleven hour drive to look forward to, so we had music, snacks, energy drinks, an audio book (The Dinner by Herman Koch), and of course my camera to capture the sunrise on the road (which was certainly stunning).
After catching up for some time (and hearing a couple crazy stories), we decided to head into downtown Madison. Moses drives like a true Greek: very fast, on people's tails, and cursing at 'slow foreign drivers' (and I say that with not offense meant to Greek people)! We walked around, exploring the area around the capitol, passing a gay pride parade, and finally ended up at that night's dinner destination: Heritage Tavern. We started off our meal with two appetizers: bacon wrapped cheese curds as well as pork belly, seared foie gras, and raw black fin tuna served with a pineapple compote (yeah, that was all one dish). We also ordered a round of that night's special drink: a carrot and gin cocktail with edible gold glitter; I typically prefer something more fruity, but it had quite a nice, fresh flavor. For my entree I decided on a white fish with coconut red curry, market vegetables and white rice. It was spicy, flavorful, and the fish was wonderfully delicate. Right as we were beginning to finish, the owner came up to our table, and began talking to Moses like an old friend--apparently he has been one of Moses' students years earlier. Trev and I decided to split a dessert, but it was honestly nothing too special, so I wont go into much detail.
Heading back into the night, we walked along State Street, which is was beginning to bustle with the Saturday night crowd. I looked into windows of boutiques, coffee shops, and bars full of college students who were flooding into town for the upcoming semester. We eventually made our way to the campus, and out to the waterfront where we got ice cream, and enjoyed a live jazz concert that was going on. After walking along the waterfront for a little while, we slowly made our way back through Madison and drove back to the house and retired for an early night after the long day.
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The next morning began very leisurely. I slept in, caught up on all things online, took a shower, relaxed with Trevor and Moses in the living room, and at little after 11 AM, we headed out to pick up a little breakfast at Starbucks, before going on to Moses' parents apartment in the center of Madison. They had moved to America just the past year due to the declining situation in Greece, and into an apartment that Moses had bought. It had a view of the capitol through the huge picture windows in the living room which was flooded with morning lights, and two balconies which looked perfect for eating breakfast and people watching! (unfortunately, I don't have any photos to share, as it would have felt a little odd to photograph their home) After some talking, we were back on our way to that day's adventure: boating! Moses had some good friends, Dick and his wife Noelle, who lived right on the waterfront, and happened to be a big sailors. I was stunned as we pulled up to their house, and see what a beauty it was (inside and out); the entire far wall of the living room was glass and looked over the water. Right away, we made our way down to the water where the men began getting the boat ready for take-off, and I sat on the swing bench with Moses' mother and heard about Greece, and all of her travels. By noon, we were taking off onto the water. We started out slow, but soon were whizzing along at an exhilarating speed. I had never gone boating before, but after my first experience, I cannot wait to go again (and maybe try out jet skiing next time!).
We arrived at a restaurant on the opposite side of the lake, just as I began feeling a little hungry, and sat down at an outdoor table, and asked for two orders of cheese curds to get us started while we looked over the menus. I ended up getting lobster fish tacos which came with a pineapple-onion salsa and a spicy chipotle-mayo sauce... it was as good as it sounds! The restaurant is an extended part of a hotel which was recently renovated, so after eating it we explored the beautiful interior while Dick told stories of his fraternity days (there was one incredible story involving an alligator) and his son's adventures in China! Soon enough, though, we were back on the boat, skidding along the top of the water. When we arrived back at Dick and Noelle's house, we sat on their porch facing the water and indulged into some ice cream Moses had brought before saying our goodbyes.
By the time we got back to the house, it was nearly 5 PM, and I sunk into the couch with my iPad for some down time. By 7 PM we were ready for more food, so we headed across town to Moses' self-proclaimed 'best pizza place' Grandpa's Pizzeria. Although we were expecting a bit of a wait for a table, we ended up being seated right away right by the window. Directly through the windows we had a lovely view of the restaurant's garden (where they use fresh vegetables and herbs for their pizza), which was illuminated by little glowing Chinese lanterns. Just like the previous night, we started off the evening meal with two appetizers: a pork confit (which was served in a skillet with a sinful amount of chimichurri olive oil) and calamari stuffed with a soft chorizo and a tomato based sauce. Both had wonderful flavor, and soon enough the pizzas arrived, moving us right along with the meal. We had ordered the jabroni (pesto and tomato sauce with smoked mozzarella and fresh basil) and the brassacre (brussel sprouts, back, fresh mozzarella, and garlic). The restaurants specialty was thin crust so they both had wonderfully crispy bottoms, and were generous with the toppings.
After we headed out of the restaurant and back to the house, I settled into bed to get a good night's rest for what would come the next day!
xx
Erin
Heritage Tavern
Open for dinner Tuesday to Sunday 5PM – 10 PM
131 East Mifflin Street, Madison, WI
Website Here
The Boathouse
Open daily 11AM - 11PM
1001 Wisconsin Place, Madison, WI
Website Here
Grampa's Pizzeria
Open daily 5PM - varying times (check website)
1374 Williamson Street, Madison, WI
Website Here
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