Whenever I get bored of the politics of University Village I'm going to visit Sacramento. Everything is politics here! Store clerks discuss it as they process your credit card, baristas comment on it as they froth your milk, I'm sure the squirrels are campaigning against the signs not to feed them...
And it's still hot. We've holed up in a little air-conditioned coffee shop to wait for darkness, but as the afternoon draws on the temperature just seems to go up!
At least it was cool in the Capitol Building. Dating from the 1860s and totally renovated in the 1970s (when representatives apparently held session wearing hard hats) its designated as a State Park. As such it has an excellent free guide service and we jumped on the 10am tour. Our guide's mum turned out to be a politician and we got an insider's view of the current scandals along with historical facts.
Access to the political process here is incredible. Modelled on the English houses of Commons and Lords (of course!), there isn't a single closed session in either the house of representatives or the senate. The legislature is legally obliged to give you a seat in the gallery for any committee, and there are four television channels so if you can't make it here in person you can sit at home and watch. Go through security and you can wander anywhere within the building (our guide pointed out the leader of the house of representatives, one of the most powerful people in California, as she walked past and said hello), and you don't even need to be a citizen to propose a bill! I'm going to be back here...
After that we sauntered to Old Town (read: tourist trap) and managed to avoid buying anything more extortionate than a few postcards. Thankfully an air-conditioned mall stood between us and our hotel so we lingered there for some long, cool minutes. Now it's time to brave the heat again as we go to find some dinner - Hannah's found somewhere three blocks from where we're sat, so we'll reapply the suncream and load up on electrolyte-rich fluids. Oh, and tomorrow's meant to be hotter.
Strange sculptures on the way down to the Capitol.
Hannah and the rose garden. Possibly a victim of forthcoming budget cuts...? (The plants, not Han).
Waiting for the man.
Guarding the Governor's office.
Up inside the dome.
The seal of California in Tiffany glass. It's not a skylight, but one of the first electric lamps in CA!
I know that guy...
You can have access to the political process, but don't get too excited. This would not go down well in Berkeley.
Hannah dreams of (more) power.
A real Golden Gate Bridge.
An original goldrush inhabitant tips his hat.
