Last week, Marc and I went to Sacramento on a whim, basically to get out of the city and visit some place new and different.  We first thought of returning to Reno, Nevada.  It had been over five years after all since we went there for a weekend getaway.  At the last minute, we changed our minds and settled on California's state capital which was halfway to our originally planned destination.

Boy, were we surprised to see Sacramento's attractions!  We enjoyed our day trip so much, today, we went back for more sightseeing.  Just as I feared, another day simply wasn't enough to see everything.  At any rate, here are some of the pictures we took from our day long adventure.

The Crocker Museum

This is the sign on the museum's newly built addition.  The museum's collections had gotten very big and new buildings were needed to house them.  Hence the construction of other wings and their addition to the Victorian House which used to the lone and original site of the museum.

The museum has an impressive collection of European and California Art.  It was simply fascinating.  The museum's building alone is a work of art in itself.  We were absolutely dumbfounded and asked ourselves how we had missed this gem all these years.  We are culture vultures, for goodness sake.

Inside this seemingly ordinary Victorian House can be found the one of the most impressive collections of artwork in California and the US.

Though this painting may look like it was painted in Europe, this is all American.  Its subjects are Californians, better yet, the very first Mexicans who settled and lived in California, when it was not yet a member of the Union and actually still part of Mexico.

This painting depicts a well off Baltic family in Europe having dinner when a relative arrives.  The well dressed relative is said to have just arrived from America.

This is just one of the very many European paintings purchased by the very wealthy Crocker Family who traveled to the old continent in the mid 1800s for a grand vacation and purchased works of art like crazy while traveling to fill their Sacramento mansion.

I think I will be following in the Crockers' footsteps since this coming Christmas 2011, I too plan to go shopping for paintings in the old country (my native Philippines), go to Tiendesitas, and acquire Philippine themed paintings to place in my one bedroom condo.  I plan to be extravagant this time, and problably spend the fabulous sum of $100 for some coveted works of art.

This marble statue named Nadia stands in front of the entrance to the gallery featuring European painters inside the newly built addition to the Crocker Museum.  It is said that Nadia is a blind slave helping her master get away from Mt. Vesuvius when it erupted over a century ago in Naples, Italy.

The facade of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in downtown Sacramento

This building is actually just two blocks away from the Capitol Building.  This is one Sacramento landmark not to be missed.  Its painted nave is spectacular.  Very pink!

Scenes from the western frontier town of Old Sacramento

There is no doubt that this part of Sacrmento is the most popular attraction among tourists visiting the State Capital.  This is where pratically all visitors congregate.  A few museums can likewise be found in this area.  There's the Railroad Museum, the Military Museum, the Wells Fargo Museum, the First School House, and The Sacramento History Museum.

If there is an attraction I do not particularly like it  is the 40 minute train ride from Old Sacramento up the Delta River.  While we traveled on a vintage train with wonderful views of the river, it didn't really go very far.  Twenty minutes into the trip, the train stopped and returned back to Old Town.  The Admission Ticket for this train ride was $10 per person.  Give it a miss.

The Yellow Bridge in Old Town