On Wednesday, Middlebury took us on a guided tour of the Sénat, located in the Palais du Luxembourg at the head of the Luxembourg Garden. We had an excellent tour guide who gave us a very comprehensive crash course in all we needed to know about the French Senate - both the building and the institution. The place functions about like the US Senate, sharing duties with the Assemblée Nationale, which is like the House of Representatives.
La salle du livre d'or, or the Golden Book Room
Ceiling detail in the salle
Reception Hall
Le hémicycle, the Senate chamber
the Senate is still in summer recess, so there was still work being done
there are 348 senateurs
everything is gold
the ceiling of the former chapel, when the Palais du Luxembourg was the private residence of Marie de Medicis, mother of King Louis XIII
the staircase with a ceiling "signed" by the same architect who did work in the Musée d'Orsay, among other places
Good work! Thumbs up!
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