Quick Trip to Madison

Our friends Andy and Tara have been hounding us for some time to take a trip to Madison with them and experience the farmer's market there. Amazingly, we were able to coordinate our four schedules last weekend... not perfectly since we went when I was post-call and the day we came back Ari had to work the overnight shift, but if we kept waiting for a better time it probably wouldn't have happened. Regardless, we made the 90 minute trek west to the home of my nemesis the Wisconsin Badgers. I love Tara and Andy but they are HUGE Badger fans... I try not to hold that against them. We checked in to our hotel where we got the priceline view of the roof and headed into town. We ate at a fabulous Italian restaurant whose name I can't seem to remember. While the food and company was great... the service certainly left something to be desired. We were immediately greeted by the waiter but hadn't picked our drinks yet. He came back about fifteen minutes later and took our whole order. Then the appetizers came out and we still didn't have our drinks. From our vantage point the bartender surely wasn't backed up either. FINALLY, after the appetizer was finished our drinks came. When he brought us our meals he said he would bring more bread... which never happened. He actually never returned to our table until he brought the check. He definitely did not win server of the night. With full stomach's we made our way to the student union (and I amazingly did not spontaneously combust) to have a drink and listen to live music. We bar hopped with a couple of Tara and Andy's friends until we were about to drop dead tired and then crashed.

The next day we met Tara's parents for breakfast and then headed to the farmer's market. Ari was joking around because they kept telling us you could get ANYTHING there so Ari said he bet he wouldn't see jicama... which we actually did! Needless to say the market was huge and wrapped around the capital building. From fresh fruits and veggies, to cheese, to baked items, spices, sauces, meats, and flowers the place was a cornicopia of yumminess! This picture is the crazy guy selling honey (sorry there aren't more pictures). Finally it was time for us to part ways. Andy, Tara, and her parents were off to the game and we went home to catch up on some much needed sleep.