OCT 24, 2015 – Milwaukee was really just an intermediate stop – part of the reason to go there was that I could save $100 on my flight to Seattle that way. But I was very lucky to be hosted by a guy named Jim there. I had decided ahead of time to make my first Raclette of the season at Jim’s house, so I bought cheese and other ingredients in Chicago before leaving. Once I found a way to melt the cheese without a raclette grill (a toaster oven worked fine), we were both very happy with this Swiss dinner. Jim then showed me some of Milwaukee’s nicest bars: Patty’s Irish Pub, with a lovely interior full of little details to discover, a set of old church windows, bathtubs with bronze figures in them, Irish live music, et cetera. And a German-themed bar, again with a stunning interior, and with a larger selection of German beers than the “Bavaria” in Lausanne. Apparently even German visitors were impressed! After a good night’s sleep, we spent most of the Saturday in the city, discovering the Public Market, the riverside walk, and a sausage factory, among other things. When Jim dropped me off at the airport in the afternoon, I felt very satisfied with my short visit to the state of Wisconsin, and grateful for the great hospitality that I had encountered.