The Magic Garden

This is the Magic Sculpture Garden in Philadelphia. It is very difficult to describe, but it is a fantastic work of art. It was one of many things I loved about the city... I think that behind San Francisco and New York (in that order, of course), it is the best city I've ever spent time in. There are two huge rivers, and beautiful green parks filled with families and children, and cobblestone streets, and farmers' markets...

This is another one from the Papal Mass, with my friends Armando and Leah (they both sing in the choir at AU, and Armando was singing in the Papal choir here - he broke the rules to come say hi to us!).
This is Jason and I after Mass on campus yesterday ... if we look kind of tired, it's 'cause we had been to Philadelphia and back (via train) and also driven from New Jersey to DC within the last 48 hours.

Que viva el papa!

Do you like my hat?

Isn't that a line from a Dr. Seuss book? No... I've got it, it's from that beginning reader book about dogs that drive fast cars! In any case, this is the beautiful hat that I purchased last Saturday (after much haggling and lowering of the price) in Chinatown in Manhattan. I have been looking for one like this for approximately one year now, so I was very happy to finally find it.

Irish Hunger Memorial

This is a memorial in Battery Park for the millions who died during Ireland's Potato Famine in the 19th century. It is really beautiful and unexpected - a little pocket of the Irish countryside situated in the middle of Manhattan's skyscrapers. The plants and stones (there is a replica of a ruin of a 19th century Irish cottage) were all brought from Ireland.
You wouldn't guess from the above and below pictures that this is actually located...

... in the midst of this.

Springtime!

It is finally springtime in DC, and I have never been so excited for a change of season in my life. Everyone keeps telling me this was the mildest winter DC has had in years, but as far as I am concerned, it was the coldest of my life. I have been wearing sandals this week (my toes haven't seen the sky in 5 months!), and even going outside without a coat. Joy!
There are incredible flowers everywhere, and trees absolutely covered in blossoms.
This tree is a few blocks from my house, and it looks like it exploded. You can't even see the magnitude of it here - I will post a larger picture later.

We had a picnic in the park by my house today... you can't see, since the flash made it too bright, but we had fresh french bread, hummus, red onions, gouda cheese and (shh!) red wine.

Holy Saturday in DC

Jason and I went on a fantastic, long bike ride Saturday that spanned 3 states (Maryland, DC, and Virginia). It was a beautiful day, even though it absolutely poured for the last half hour of our ride. This is Tyrone (Ty, for short), Jason's new bike on the left, and of course, Matilda on the right. Fletcher's Cove is on the Potomac, and they rent canoes and kayaks... it will be so exciting to go out on the river when the water level goes down a little!
This is the C & O Canal, which runs along the Potomac.
This is like a "Where's Waldo" picture - how many national monuments can you find? You should be able to see the Washington Monument to the left and the Capitol building to the right, in the distance. This is the Virginia portion of our trail.
This is part of the Tidal Basin. The famous cherrry blossoms are just beginning to bloom, as you can see.