On a recent visit to Milwaukee, it dawned on me that I’ve never done any posts on the city I called home for so many years. I was there to spend some quality time with family and friends, and realized there’s no better time than now to share with you what a unique city it is.

Summer is a great time to visit Milwaukee - not only are there myriad festivals celebrating music and food, there are also some beautiful spots downtown and by the lake to hang out. Over the next few posts, I’ll share with you some of my favorite places to go when I'm there - so next time you’re in town, you'll have some ideas of what to check out!

One day we spent visiting the Art Museum and strolling the boardwalk. The awesome structure you see here is the Quadracci Pavilion addition commissioned by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava in 2001. It's easily one of Milwaukee's most visually prominent and recognizable sites.

We wrapped up the day with some iced coffee at Milwaukee's most famous fair-trade coffee house, Alterra at the lake.