Prior to Sunday, my experience with the National Cathedral in Washington DC consisted one one 5th grade field trip with 60+ rowdy children and several irritable teachers. Driving past it has always stirred a desire to go back and photograph there, but I’ve never put much effort towards it.

We received an e-mail from my aunt Kathy last week, though, that my cousin Sarah would be singing with her church choir at the National Cathedral. Let me be plain: this is a BIG DEAL. Sarah’s choir is amazing- they’ve toured globally, and have garnered themselves a much-respected reputation. Seeing as they’re in Kentucky, though, I’ve never had the chance to hear them sing.

It was beautiful. I’ve never heard a choir with that much discipline, technical know-how, and crisp pronounciations. I wasn’t able to take photos during the service but afterwards, my aunt Kathy toiok us on a short tour of the cathedral. We were even taken down into the crypt, and I felt like I was at Hogwarts.

That photo on the right is of a flying buttress; I’m not sure of the ins and outs of how they work, but its something about taking the weight of the wall and transferring it to the ground. They’re associated with Gothic architecture, and can be seen on cathedrals around the world, like Notre Dame!

The window in the image on the right was my favorite of all the stained class there. The small white center in the middle of the top circle is actually housing a piece of moon rock.

The level of detail in cathedrals and churches never fails to amaze me. How many hours did this wooden structure take to carve? Was it done by hand? Is it all one piece of wood? Amazing!

These next couple of images are from the children’s chapel, which is right off of the main aisle in the sanctuary. There were teeny little chairs with kneeling cushions, a miniature pipe organ, and ornate carvings depicting Jesus as a child.

These next few are from down in the crypt. See what I mean? Hogwarts-esque. I love the vaulted ceilings in the halls. The image below on the left is from one of the many smaller chapels dotted through the cathedral.

An indoor and outdoor view of one of the many rose windows throughout the cathedral.

That’s Sarah! Isn’t she pretty? And on the right, my dad and his two sisters. I love my family 🙂

Happy Wednesday!