Greetings from Madison | Two.

...Madison is showing us a great time! the weather has been delightful (it was a bit chilly yesterday morning and I worried briefly that we hadn't packed warm enough clothes, but the day turned fine; today was pleasantly warm with a nice breeze), the people warm and friendly, the sights colorful...and the food...delicious. Even the driving and the parking has been ok. We're starting to navigate a bit on our own and love that things that seem far apart on the map are only a 15 or 20 minute drive away.

As I type this, we're watching House Hunters (Sara is a recent convert to HGTV and it's been fun to talk about this apartment search like an episode of the show). Yesterday started with "New construction on the lake" and ended with "in-town convenience". We see another in-town place early Monday; not sure how that will play out. But it's going to take a lot to make Sara choose anything other than the lake. This is what would be in her backyard.

She'd be on the third floor.

I was charmed by the neighborhood. Peonies are in full bloom in nearly every yard!

We walked to a local pizza place for lunch. Fresh arugula on the white pizza and caponata on the red. delicous.

And a yarn store across the street. I bought two skiens of Hikoo Rylie to make a(nother!) Diagonal Lace Scarf. The store has been there for 45 years and they're expanding to a new location down the block in August. (of course that has no bearing on how much I loved the apartment).

The in-town apartment was just ok. New construction again, but the finishes were more like a dorm (no room for a dining table, no washer/dryer and really ugly bedroom carpet). Sara submitted an application on-line but by the time we finished dinner and a lot of pro-con talk, she'd pretty much decided against it.

But the location is still a draw. Walking distance from all kinds of restaurants and an easy bus-ride to work when the weather gets nasty. I have to admit that walking distance from fabulous cocktails is a real plus!

(mine and hers at Merchant)

In all, it was a very good day!

Leasing offices are closed on the weekend here so we have time to explore. We got an early start this morning at the Dane County Farmers Market. Quite simply it's amazing.

Then we visited the lakefront park to see what it was like on the weekend and came back to the hotel for a nap (me) and a break (Sara). Headed out shortly for dinner so I need to wrap this up. It's been great reading your comments and good wishes - all very much appreciated. Thank you!