2010 Road Trip Day 2 - Madison - State Capitol & Monona Terrace

We visited Olin-Turville Park near the hotel in the morning.

From the park, you can see Lake Monona and the isthmus portion...

There's a little beach area and is a rather nice park...

Very nice view...

Then, we walked back to the hotel for our ride on the shuttle bus to the State Capitol Building. The State Capitol is modeled after the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C. and is the tallest building in Madison. Its dome is one of the largest in the world in terms of volume. The building is really nice and we took lots of photos of it from all 4 sides... =p

The statue of Wisconsin above the dome. In her left hand, Wisconsin holds a globe with an eagle perched on it and on top of her helmet is the state animal - the badger.

After that we went for the guided tour... These photos were taken while we were looking up at the dome from inside the building...

The first room we visited was the Hearing Room, it is used by the legislature for public committee hearings.

The North Wing viewed from the 2nd level...

Next, we visited the Senate Chambers where the Senate meets to discuss and vote on bills...

After that, we went to the Assembly Chambers, where the Assembly meets in this room to debate and vote on bills...

The seats are really comfortable... =p

The last room we saw was the Supreme Court Room...

Here, no jury or witnesses are present because it is an appeals court. The cases in the Supreme Court consist of two attorneys who argue their client's positions to the justices. After the justices have heard the arguments, they discuss the case and then vote on it. The Justices do not hear all cases that are appealed to them. Instead, they choose cases that will have the greatest legal impact on the State of Wisconsin. There are seven justices who sit on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the longest serving justice serves as Chief Justice.

Our tour ended with our guide showing us the Rotunda which is a really nice area. Too bad there was some exhibition going on at the Rotunda during our visit and we did not go down to the area...

After the guided tour, we went up to the Observation Deck at the roof. This is the view when you looked up at the dome from the Observation Deck...

From here, you can have a spectacular view of the surrounding area...

We even bought a model of the Wisconsin State Capitol Building as a souvenir... =p

Next, we left the Capitol Building and walked towards Monona Terrace. On our way, there was a Farmers' Market and we browsed through it...

Me in the midst of the Farmers' Market...

State Capitol Building seen from the Farmers' Market across the road...

The Monona Terrace...

From the rooftop of Monona Terrace, you have a view of downtown Madison, including the Capitol Building...

Very nice view of the buildings...

The other side has a panoramic view of Lake Monona...