I didn’t have to go to the office today, so I spent the morning reading for fun before taking the bike down to the coffee shoppe to meet V. for a little reading and writing and eavesdropping on our neighbors. I got some good thinking done and then it was time to get back on the bike for a quick stop at the fancy public library for my brand spankin’ new library card and then across the street to visit the Baltimore Basilica, America’s First Cathedral, designed and built from 1806-1821, because there’s little I like more than a visit to a place with tours or history or at least a brochure. After a brief welcome and instructions to not miss out on the basement–go around past the altar, down the stairs–I took myself on the tour. They were right–don’t miss the downstairs. The catacombs do some architectural something or other to distribute and support the domes of the place, but they also leave a girl like me feeling kinda creeped out. It’s all long and low brick halls leading to a statue of the Virgin de Guadelupe or a backlit Jesus and there was no one there but me. I did my rounds, read every plaque, enjoyed the display of historical vestments, and then it was time to get the heck out of there. I continued my ride down and around the Inner Harbor and then back up the hill, home again, home again, jiggity jig. What a lovely day.