Milwaukee Art Museum Art

The Milwaukee Art Museum Calatrava architecture is beautiful. It was built in downtown along Lake Michigan before we moved to DC thirteen years ago. While on a visit to the Midwest last week we caught up with a friend who is a docent at the museum, and she gave us a private tour followed by lunch. I don’t remember exactly when we last saw the artwork inside the museum. I do know I hadn’t started my blog until we lived in DC, and that’s why I take note of things about me more than I ever did before. I’m always looking to find subject matter to write about, and take photos of the subject at hand. So this was a great opportunity to capture the images of the many and varied artworks inside the museum. I tend to like the impressionist interpretations the most, or those whimsical in nature. Some of the contemporary stuff is unique but certainly not to my taste. I suppose the definition of Art is that it brings out some sort of reaction. What the docent tells us about a painting is oftentimes nothing I would have thought about. All in all it was a lovely day - I know what I like when I see it. 

A View from the Twentieth Floor

We aren’t on the Lake side. We are on the city side - but not facing the down town or anything recognizable. It’s the vast western view of Milwaukee. We are on the twentieth floor of Park Lafayette Towers on the lower east side. It’s an area we spent a lot of time in when we lived in Milwaukee for over thirty years. But rather than drive any friend crazy, we thought living in a one bedroom apartment for almost two weeks might be a good option. The oriental theater and Ma Fischer’s are two blocks away, my hair stylist Nadeen was a few blocks away, the lake front is just on the other side, and Downer Avenue is just up the street. I got a few pair of my favorite eye glasses at Optix and we had many dinners in the neighborhood. Unfortunately it’s been raining most of the time since we arrived so the views from the twentieth floor have been interesting. I know for certain I’m not a high rise kind of person. The howling wind during thunderstorms at midnight can be frightening! Can’t imagine how that feels in the dead of winter. So, as temporary housing it couldn’t have been better. Next time I’d prefer a lower floor and a lake view. 

A Sunny Day at the Milwaukee Art Museum

Finally! A sunny day in Milwaukee! There was a reason we moved away from the Midwest. The very long winters and living along Lake Michigan were primary reasons to leave. It was always ten degrees cooler by the lake, but I honestly don’t remember this much rain and cloudy skies. And so finally - on the day we were going to have a personal tour of the art museum - there was a sun in the sky. One of our past colleagues and friends has been a docent at the Milwaukee Art Museum for a very long time. Yesterday we joined up and got a personal tour of the Calatrava building itself, as well as the art collection within. It’s been a while since our last visit there. The architecture is really amazing and the story behind it was intriguing. The clean lines are felt all the way to the parking garage and the views of Lake Michigan are magnificent. When the weather is decent, the movable “wings” of the building are extended. After the tour we had lunch in the fine dining restaurant. It was a lovely time - the sun and our friends. 

Polonez Polish Restaurant

It’s been a while. Polish restaurants simply do not exist in the DC area. When we first moved to DC thirteen years ago, we found a sort of  Polish restaurant in Baltimore. We grew up on pierogi, stuffed cabbage and kielbasa. Living in Milwaukee also afforded us a few Polish restaurants. But now there is primarily one - that we know of. So we drove over to Polonez in Cudahy for a Polish treat. We had been there several times before. We took my parents there when they would visit us every October all those years ago. So we ordered the Polish platter - kielbasa, stuffed cabbage, potato pancakes, potato salad, and potato pierogi. We also ordered a couple more saurkraut/mushroom pierogi. For whatever reason we didn’t get a cup of chicken soup - something we really needed because both of us are fighting off terrible colds since we arrived in the Midwest. The salad and rolls filled the bill. So it was a treat to eat Polish food. It’s something one needs on a very rainy and cold evening. 

Ma Fischer’s Restaurant

We lived in Milwaukee for over thirty years. There are a lot of places we frequented for breakfast. One of them was Ma Fischer's located on the East Side. This area was also known to us because my hair stylist had a shop just up the street. Palermo Villa was a favorite - we had my husband’s surprise 50th birthday party there. I don’t think it’s around any more. And one of the best pizza places by far was Pizza Man. Unfortunately it burned down after we moved, but it was rebuilt and there are now three locations. And of course, the Oriental Theater is located just next door. We were there all the time - maybe every week - to catch independent and other movies. So while we are visiting in the old home town this week, we decided to walk over to Ma Fischer’s for old time sake. We are staying at Park Lafayette Towers and it’s just a block or two away. The neighborhood has changed - like most places - there are new apartment complexes and shops. St. Mary’s Hospital now belongs to Ascension, formerly Wheaton Franciscan - my old employee. The weather is gloomy with storms all day. But to see Ma Fischer’s was a treat. 

VIP Corporate Housing

My husband and I lived in the Midwest for over thirty years. We just moved to a new condo in Northern Virginia almost six months ago after living on Capitol Hill for thirteen years. It took us about five years to figure out where to finally “settle.” We have family in the DC area, but we also have a lot of friends and colleagues in the Midwest. We decided to take a little vacation to Milwaukee after having not visited for three years. But rather than stay with anyone we know for almost two weeks, I researched about places that have a longer stay option. I’m not a fan of Air B&B, and a Hotel wouldn’t work. A few years ago I found an organization called VIP corporate housing and inquired about a longer stay option. My husband would never go for a month, or even three weeks. So it sounded like it might be a good alternative for us if we could make it for about ten days. The location I wanted wasn’t available, but there were two other sites. We decided on Lafayette Park Towers on the east side along Lake Michigan. Unfortunately we are on the city side rather than the Lake side, but the one bedroom apartment is nice. I came upon a “welcome” gift in the closet the other day. It was unexpected, but a cute house warming idea. I don’t know if we will do this again but it is overall a nice option. Usually we would just stay for a long weekend. But when you’re driving, it’s hardly worth the trouble. Now we have an opportunity to visit with and see so many more people we really want to be around. We miss them a lot. But it’s just too darn cold to move here.