Milwaukee, Wisconsin

I know it's pretty funny this is the first spot I pick in my vacations section, but really I wanted to get it out of the way.  There's not a lot to do here and having spent so much time here I can say do NOT come to Wisconsin.

Mostly here, I'll cover the bad things about this place and then finish with a few bright spots of the city.

Half of the year this place is a frozen tundra.  Very cold temperatures and blizzards with winds that cut right through you.  Do not come anytime from November to roughly May.

Crime - there's a lot of people that are down on their luck here and the government pays them i.e. welfare.  For the ones not on welfare a lot of them turn to less legal ways to make money.

There's simply not a lot to do here UNLESS you're a birder - then I hear it's one of the best places to see lots of different types of birds.

The night life is lacking.  The shopping is lacking.  The restaurants are lacking as well.

On to the good stuff.

There's a place outside of Milwaukee on the way to Chicago really (just off exit #335 on the I-94).  It's called the Apple Holler restaurant and orchard.  A cool place to pick some pumpkins in the fall, and other fruits during the year like apples.  The restaurant is awesome, expect a full house on the weekends when they serve a tasty all you can eat buffet.  If you go, you MUST drink some of the many different variety apple ciders they have.  MMMM mmmm yummy.  Biscuits with white gravy, pancakes, and french toast are all very delicious.  Besides the orchard, restaurant, and gift shop, they also have a petting zoo and a few fun things to do with the kids here.  Oh, and the parking lot, it's pretty small.  A LOT of people park on the side of the road on the way to this place.  If you see a long long line of traffic around the side of the freeway, you know you're getting close.
The address:
5006 S. Sylvania Avenue Sturtevant, WI 53177
www.appleholler.com

Next up for places that do not suck in Milwaukee -
The Milwaukee Art Museum
This place I love because of the exterior and architecture.  Very well done - it's abstractly a boat with a sail, though some people might see a butterfly or a bird that opens it's wings.  I suppose it depends on your point of view.



The wind speed makes the wings come out



The designer, Santiago Calatrava calls it the Burke Brise Soleil, referring only to the 217 foot movable sunscreen.  Though the building and grounds were a 3 part endeavor added to over time the space really does flow together.  The other 2 designers that did separate parts of the area are world famous Eero Saarinen (who I studied in college), and landscape architect Dan Kiley.  Saarinen did the majority of the building in 1957 and Time magazine gave it high praise.
The address:
700 N. Museum Drive
Milwaukee, WI 53202
http://www.mam.org/

Another place to have a bite to eat:
Classic Slice

Wow, the pizza is huge huge huge here.  Just one slice is comparable to about 2 or 3 slices of other pizzerias.  They don't weigh down the pizza with a ton of cheese that disconnects and slides off on your first bite and they don't put some gourmet tomato sauce on it either.  It's just really tasty pizza. 

It's also the only place I've ever visited that offers mac 'n cheese on your pizza.  Trust me, it's really good.  If you go make sure you are very hungry or have about 2 friends with you to share a large pizza.  They have 2 locations.  Pictured here is the one on KK ave.
Bayview area
2797 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. or
East side area
1609 E. North Ave.
www.theclassicslice.com


A pizza of a different kind:
Edwardo's Natural Pizza

If you like things a little upside down - here's the place for you to get your pizza fix.  They also serve gigantic pizza's but the crust is soooooo flaky and buttery, it could be a meal all by itself.
They throw all the conventional toppings on the bottom and mix the cheese somewhere in there as well, but put the sauce on top.  The slices are very heavy and it's more like a pie really.
I'm not sure what the name means by "natural" but it's damn fine pizza if you are really really hungry.
The address: (they have locations in Indiana and Illinois as well, but for Wisconsin)
Wauwatosa
10845 Bluemound Road
Wauwatosa, WI 53226
www.edwardos.com


I might add a few restaurants here later, but for now, that's all she wrote.