Little Italy

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Fan at the Top of the Stairs Crossing President at Fayette

Fan at the Top of the Stairs Crossing President at FayetteIt was another surprisingly cool and totally perfect late summer day (I can’t say “fall” yet–too real), so after a lazy morning I hopped on the bike and headed down the hill to Little Italy to take in a second day of fried dough–I mean the Feast of St. Gabriel. I’d been down the day before with N. and R. in a car, if you can believe that. Guess what? Way easier on the bike, though having those two to share the fried dough was a wise move. I locked up to a street sign next to the heavy police presence called for at events like this, apparently. I got my fried dough, ate it too quickly over Bingo, and slugged down their specialty cocktail, my blood finally running at full-sugar. That didn’t stop me from eating some of N.’s candy at the movie, however. Continue reading →

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Homage to Harriet Exhibit at the Lewis Museum at Pratt & President

Homage to Harriet Exhibit at the Lewis Museum at Pratt & PresidentToday’s ride took me down the hill for waffles and bacon with my grading and then down and over to Little Italy for a trip to the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture (can y’all put in a bike rack, please?) to check out their new exhibit on art inspired by Harriet Tubman. Tubman was from Maryland, and it was in Maryland that she was held in slavery, beaten, abused, but like it does with Frederick Douglass, Maryland claims her proudly, as if the state had the right to brag about her 150 years on after what they’ve done, as if honor is the same as reparations. But this exhibit wasn’t about that. Continue reading →

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Club Orpheus Sign at Pratt & Exeter

Club Orpheus Sign at Pratt & ExeterSaturday’s ride took me down the hill against the Baltimore wind machines for a dip in the pool. I do this ride so often that it just feels like home, like that old ride from the Garden District up to Tulane when I lived in New Orleans–same streets, same houses, same potholes and traffic patterns every day, but every day it is a little bit different in the ride. This day’s ride was frustrated by surprising traffic–where’s everybody going on a Saturday, man? Get off my downtown streets! Continue reading →

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Blighted Row Houses at Madison & Montford

Blighted Houses at Madison & MontfordIt was still super cold out today, but the roads were dry, so I happily took the bike out for my ride down the hill and to the left, to Canton, for a swim lesson. Also, I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the Ravens won the Super Bowl, and Baltimore is officially The Greatest City in America, so I wanted to ride around and see what all the fuss is about. Continue reading →

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Plants on a Ledge in Front of a House at Exeter & Fawn

It has felt like weeks since I last got to ride my bicycle. I was busy heeding the weather warnings and staying inside as Hurricane Sandy approached the east coast, and then I was busy catching up with work at work. I took the bike out for a very quick ride to see a show on Halloween, but that didn’t even count. Today I got to ride the bike all the way to Harbor East and back–hooray! Ok, still a rather short ride, but at least today I got get myself pedaling a bit. It took about three blocks for everything to feel sunnier, even if the skies are still gray, like they’ve been for over a week. Continue reading →

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A Band and Dancers at Stiles & Lloyd during the Feast of St. Gabriel Festival

I wasn’t in the mood for much yesterday, if I’m being completely honest (so tired!), but I had plans to meet A. and V. down in Little Italy for the San Gabriel festival, so there I was on my bike, rolling down the hill. And yep, that instantly lifted my mood. I stopped for a quick lunch to avoid the fried everything at the street fest and then rode over to the Flag House to lock up and meet A. for a wander. Continue reading →

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View From Patterson Park From S. Patterson Park & Bank Street

It has been bitterly cold the past few days, but I knew today was supposed to be sunny and warm, so I made plans for a bike date. I got up early, shivered a little on my morning ride to the coffee shop to get some work done, and read and wrote and graded things until S. popped in to meet me. And told me it was warming up. Yay! Continue reading →