Monday

Today we took a field trip to Baltimore.  Daddy had a meeting and we tagged along for the ride.  After dropping Daddy off at his meeting we drove to the Baltimore Basilica.  http://baltimorebasilica.org/  What a gorgeous Cathedral!  It was commissioned by Pope Pius VI after creating the diocese of Baltimore and naming John Carroll as the first Bishop of the United States.  It was the first Cathedral built in the United States (shortly after the constitution was adopted) and was designed by Benjamin Henry Latroube, the same architect that designed the United States Capital building

The Basilica was renovated and re-opened in 2006 and was restored to it's original vision.

We got there in time for the last half of Mass, which was a nice treat!  It also worked out that they lady sitting behind us worked there and offered to give us a tour.  The girls and I got a private tour and it was spectacular!

The Papal Umbrella

The girls said a prayer to Mary

The Altar

Fresco of the Ascension

These Frescos were uncovered during the restoration.  There are 4 of them and they are around the dome on the ceiling.  They say Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in Latin.  I wonder who covered them?

The dome - it is stunning and this picture doesn't do it justice.  At the very center is a white dove (the Holy Ghost/Spirit)  and around it in the mini dome are windows that you cannot see from directly below, only at an angle.  They call the effect "the mysterious light."  There were no artificial lights on at the Cathedral while we were there and it was very bright.  The painted flower carvings in the dome are not just beautiful but they add to the acoustics.  

Fresco of the Assumption

Organ

The Cathedral (chair)

Pre-Vatican II Artifacts in the museum

The Cardinal with President Taft (our distant relative)

The original Tabernacle and monstrance used by Archbishop Carroll

Bust of Pius X

Underneath the Basilica - catacombs.  This is a picture of the inverse of the upper Archways.  This was all uncovered during the renovation.  It was covered up over the years with dust and debris.  There is a chapel down here and it is a really neat place.

Statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe - she seems to be following me around these days, but I will do a separate post on that!  :)

Tabernacle in the chapel.  This was used in the upper Basilica before the renovation.

Statue of Our Lord.  Miss Drama took this picture and we thought the lighting effect was really neat!

Our Lady of Guadalupe

After our pilgrimage to the Shrine, we grabbed a quick lunch and headed to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.  It was a gorgeous Fall day and we probably wont have too many of those left.  There is something to be said for spending a Monday afternoon at the zoo.  We almost had the place to ourselves.  Miss Busy was even given free reign to run around a bit instead of being confined to a stroller the whole time.  Yeah for homeschooling!

Miss Musical and Miss Comedian checking out the Prairie Dogs

Miss Busy and The Baby riding in style

Polar Bear or as Miss Busy kept shouting "Care Bear!"

Arctic Fox - he was so cute and sad looking.  

Gorgeous Tree

There were zebras, rhinos, and ostriches in this exhibit

Amazing picture that Miss Drama took of the cheetah.  You can't even tell it was through the glass

My Penguins - or most of them

This baby elephant was the hit of the zoo.  He was playing with a toy tire and it was so fun to watch.  He kept getting his legs in it and trying to yank it off the fence.

This giraffe came very close to us to see if we had any treats for him, then when we didn't he moved on.

My lovely ladies

Love this picture!  These frogs would climb the glass and follow our hands