Anyway, we slept in until about 9 a.m. and weren't meeting Ken and Karen until 11:30 for lunch, so we decided to walk down to the Milwaukee Public Market, again about a mile away. On the way we passed a small park with an outdoor market of sorts, and eventually made our way down to the actual indoor market. It reminded me a lot of the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis, except smaller and less ethnic/more yuppie. Basically a great place to go if you were having a party and wanted to pick up cheese and breads, wine and spices, that sort of thing. Josh had a chocolate croissant and I had a very chocolate-y raspberry brownie. Also a bottle of brambleberry Tazo that tasted exactly like pie.
We then headed over to Water Street Brewery to meet Ken and Karen. It was good to see them, and we figured it was at least a good 8 years since we had seen each other in real time. Odd how things pass you by. I had a raspberry wheat beer (too raspberry) and Josh had ? We both ordered the jambalaya, which was very good – especially as it had no seafood in it – and it came with yummy corn fritters. Ken also ordered the table a round of soft Bavarian pretzels.
Afterwards Ken and Karen dropped us off at Lakefront Brewery so we could do the tour, which was nice since it was about a mile and a half from the restaurant. We ended up being especially grateful since, when we got there, the tours were full for the day and we basically had to turn around and walk back again. We did stay for a beer, but it was $4 for a small glass, which seemed a bit much to me.
Headed back to the hotel and took a nap before heading over to Summer
fest. On our walk over we saw three different wedding parties getting their pictures taken along the waterfront, which was kind of fun.
Afterwards Ken and Karen dropped us off at Lakefront Brewery so we could do the tour, which was nice since it was about a mile and a half from the restaurant. We ended up being especially grateful since, when we got there, the tours were full for the day and we basically had to turn around and walk back again. We did stay for a beer, but it was $4 for a small glass, which seemed a bit much to me.
Headed back to the hotel and took a nap before heading over to Summer
fest. On our walk over we saw three different wedding parties getting their pictures taken along the waterfront, which was kind of fun. Summerfest was kind of a disappointment. Our initial plan was to go both Friday and Saturday nights, but we ended up going only Saturday. And, even then we only stayed two hours and didn't stay to see the band we had originally intended to see. The Summerfest grounds are long, situated along the lakefront, but they are not wide. There are several stages with music and lots of food and beer vendors, along with your random arts and crafts booths, Tshirt and sunglasses vendors, etc. We did ride the skyway tram and stopped to listen to a band for a bit, but I was tired and over it all pretty quickly. BNL didn't come on until 10 and I was ready to go before 7 – so we did.
I will say that Summerfest has a few things I would suggest to the Minnesota State Fair. 1) The restrooms are clearly marked and you can see the signs from a distance. 2) They had these funny little electric foot massager things that I think could make someone some serious cash. 3) They had tables everywhere so you could sit and eat, or rest your feet or wait for someone. The MN State Fair does not have much for seating unless it's in a beer garden, and I think it would be a nice addition. I have to say I did not notice ANY food on a stick, which is very weird when you come from Minnesota where almost all food comes on a stick.
Our next stop was Cuvee, a champagne bar (as opposed to a wine bar) that I had wanted to check out in the Third Ward but didn't think we'd have time for. We had a brief glimpse at the Third Ward when we went to the public market that morning, so I was glad to head back in that direction as it seemed awfully cute. And, it is – lots of turn of the century brick buildings and boutique-style shops. Cuvee was on the third floor of a building and as soon as we stepped off the elevator I got nervous – here we were again in shorts and Tshirts and everyone else was very dressed up. Turns out we had walked into a gathering wedding reception. Once I realized that wasn't the standard dress code, I felt more comfortable and we made our way inside.
We loved the vibe right away. Small, dark, brick, comfy round loungers with pillows, etc. They had about 8 champagnes by the glass, and Josh ordered a prosecco and I ordered three different ones in a 2-ounce flight size. They also had an extensive champagne cocktail list that seemed pretty creative; Josh had a ginger-based one and I had one called a "French Caribbean" with passion fruit, pineapple and cherry juice. Yum! Both were very refreshing! I actually ended up wearing half of mine, because Josh was telling a story and gestured with his left hand just as I was raising my glass to my lips – champagne cocktail everywhere. Beyond the beverages we ordered the cheese plate and a pizza. It was a good detour, and we have decided that Milwaukee has some pretty nifty places!
We decided to head back to our hotel after that; it was only about 9 o'clock but it was misting and I was tired. Got back to our hotel and considered stopping by the hotel lounge, but by the time we got to our room and dried off from the rain, I was ready to crawl into bed. ZZZZZZZ...
I will say that Summerfest has a few things I would suggest to the Minnesota State Fair. 1) The restrooms are clearly marked and you can see the signs from a distance. 2) They had these funny little electric foot massager things that I think could make someone some serious cash. 3) They had tables everywhere so you could sit and eat, or rest your feet or wait for someone. The MN State Fair does not have much for seating unless it's in a beer garden, and I think it would be a nice addition. I have to say I did not notice ANY food on a stick, which is very weird when you come from Minnesota where almost all food comes on a stick.
Our next stop was Cuvee, a champagne bar (as opposed to a wine bar) that I had wanted to check out in the Third Ward but didn't think we'd have time for. We had a brief glimpse at the Third Ward when we went to the public market that morning, so I was glad to head back in that direction as it seemed awfully cute. And, it is – lots of turn of the century brick buildings and boutique-style shops. Cuvee was on the third floor of a building and as soon as we stepped off the elevator I got nervous – here we were again in shorts and Tshirts and everyone else was very dressed up. Turns out we had walked into a gathering wedding reception. Once I realized that wasn't the standard dress code, I felt more comfortable and we made our way inside.
We loved the vibe right away. Small, dark, brick, comfy round loungers with pillows, etc. They had about 8 champagnes by the glass, and Josh ordered a prosecco and I ordered three different ones in a 2-ounce flight size. They also had an extensive champagne cocktail list that seemed pretty creative; Josh had a ginger-based one and I had one called a "French Caribbean" with passion fruit, pineapple and cherry juice. Yum! Both were very refreshing! I actually ended up wearing half of mine, because Josh was telling a story and gestured with his left hand just as I was raising my glass to my lips – champagne cocktail everywhere. Beyond the beverages we ordered the cheese plate and a pizza. It was a good detour, and we have decided that Milwaukee has some pretty nifty places!
We decided to head back to our hotel after that; it was only about 9 o'clock but it was misting and I was tired. Got back to our hotel and considered stopping by the hotel lounge, but by the time we got to our room and dried off from the rain, I was ready to crawl into bed. ZZZZZZZ...
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