5 on Friday: Madison Edition

As I have already mentioned in two other posts, Wednesday was Nick's birthday.  I didn't buy him a present...gasp!  

Instead, I'm taking him out in downtown Madison this weekend.  I grew up in a small town close to Madison, and I went to college in Madison, but Nick is from Illinois.  Nick has never gotten to experience downtown Madison's nightlife.  We only live about 30 minutes away, but I got us a hotel for Saturday night, so we can both fully enjoy the night, and not worry about driving anywhere.  

In honor of our weekend, and a few things I LOVE in this awesome city, I am doing a 5 on Friday Madison Edition. 

{ONE}

 After dropping the dogs off at a friends, our first stop in Madison will be the Chazen Art Museum.  This is more for me than Nick, but I think he'll like it.  They recently opened a new contemporary wing (right side of the building) that I've only been in a for a few minutes so I can't wait to fully check it out.

{TWO}

My favorite place to eat in Madison!  The Brasserie V is an awesome European inspired restaurant near my work.  Not only is their food a-maze-balls, but they have over 250 beers selections from all over the world.  Nick loves beer, and has never been to BV so I'm pumped to take him to lunch there. 

{THREE}

Breweries galore!  A few microbreweries have popped up in Madison, and as I said above, Nick LOVES beer.  Not only does Nick love beer, but I love beer.  This weekend is mostly going to be about drinking a lot of good beer.  No shame. The above are 3 breweries we will be checking out.

{FOUR}

Madison Comedy Club on State.

Nick is a big fan of stand up comedy.  It's really a hit or miss for me, but I will admit, the few times we have gone to the CC, I've enjoyed it.  Going to a show was Nick's one request for this weekend, but since I'm such an amaaaazing girlfriend, I had already reserved our tickets before he asked :)

{FIVE}

 If you like martinis, this is the bar for you!  The Icon has the most amazing martinis, and after 10pm, they are on special for only $5!  These martinis are potent though...only one and you're going to be feeling it.  Besides the martinis, The Icon also has a great ambiance.  They play old black and white movies, and the decor is based around pictures of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, John Wayne, etc.  

I could go on forever with this list, but these are the top 5 things we will be doing this weekend.  I am just super excited to show Nick all of my favorite old haunts, and for him to have a little taste of my life as a college student.  It will also just be nice to get out of the house for a night!!

Have a fantabulous weekend!