Pittsburgh

So happy. So tired.

I made a quick trip to pick up Francisco in Pittsburgh (he made it out of Houston! Thinking of you MSI!). Since we were there, we explored the city. 

Our hotel, an old YMCA, had a cool gym. 

On Tuesday we ate fancy Mexican (four salsas!) and drank cocktails.  

On Wednesday after lovely breakfast sandwiches, we walked through a city park. 

We saw a fishing club where older people brought rods and bait and helped the kids fish. 

Some coffee shop time to cool off before we headed to the Cathedral of Learning's Nationality Rooms. 

Above and below: The German room. 

Above: Italian; Below: Czechoslovak. 

Czechoslovak ceiling. 

The room also held a copy of the agreement that formed Czechoslovakia, which I had not realized was signed in Pittsburgh!

Above: The Syrian room. Below: The Russian room. This ceiling was inspired by Russian molds for honey cakes! (And each corner of the room represented a different season.)

Above: From the Swedish room. Below: From the Austrian room--just about right. 

Seeing the Cathedral of Learning again was a treat--not only is the existence of the Nationality Rooms something that is just purely American (it makes me think of the many Marian chapels from different cultures in the basilica at CUA), but in many of the rooms, the tour guild tried to point out what the room (and culture) was telling us about education. 

From the Israel Heritage room. The middle section of the mural has water coming out of the rock after Moses struck it. 

From the Wales Room. Um...I adore this clock and definitely want a clock with my name on it. I love the hardware, too. 

In the evening: Cocktails, a jazz club, Argentinian sandwiches.