Red Line Adventures

Quick! What does The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and a Woolly Mammoth have in common? (Hint: check the title of this post) That's right--both of them are on the Red Metro line!!

The Basilica is farther north so let's start there and work our way south back into downtown DC.

The Basilica is located on the grounds of Catholic University which I am sure is a great school. The campus is beautiful, but the neighborhood seems a bit rough. The Metro stop is just across the street so it isn't too bad. It is the second largest Roman Catholic church in the Unites States. It is not a parish church or a cathedral, but it does offer mass multiple times everyday. Because it is not a parish church, the only other sacrament offered is Reconciliation. Sorry, no weddings or funerals. Although, a wedding in this place would be pretty spectacular. The tour was pretty amazing, but I recommend buying the guide book. It is probably the best $3.50 I have spent since I have been here. (I won't tell you how much more I have spent because my husband might be reading...Hi, honey!) Besides the main church, or as they call it the Upper Church, there is a second church in the basement--which is actually not below ground but at street level. Then there are multiple chapels and oratories--which are chapels without alters so mass isn't offered in them. (I never knew that before) Each of these spaces is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and decorated to express some aspect of her unique relationship with those who sponsored it. For instance, there is an oratory dedicated to Mary, Queen of Ireland that is done in shades of green marble with an alabaster window depicting scenes of Catholics living the faith in the face of the English persecution. There is a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe done with a fabulous mosaic. The amount of mosaic in this church is amazing. For all of its dedication to Mary, the Christ in Majesty mosaic behind the main alter of the upper church emphasises who it is that is central to the faith--Jesus Christ.

Now that we have toured the church, it is time to get back on the Red Line Metro and head back towards downtown and the Woolly Mammoth. This is a theater that does a lot of new, cutting edge or avant garde theater. Tonight was the opening night of a more mainstream piece that is a one man version of the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy as filmed by Peter Jackson performed in about 70 minutes by Charles Ross. I have a friend who saw the show in Toronto when Ross first started it, and she really liked it so I felt lucky to find out about this production. What makes it even better is new shows at the Woolly Mammoth are called "Pay what you can" shows. For the first few shows the audience pays whatever they want for their tickets. The lady I spoke to at the box office said usually people pay between $5.00 and $10.00, but she has had people pay with change out of their pockets also. You just have to be there when the box office opens two hours before the show and usually a line starts forming about an hour before that. Thank goodness the line was inside the theater lobby or I probably would have melted. I got there about 5:30 and the line moved quickly. It was a really good show, but you definitely have to know the story, or better yet, know the movies. There were people in the audience who hadn't read the books or seen the films and I am sure they were hopelessly lost. Ross plays it for laughs and some of the jokes everyone could have gotten.

Well, that was my day on the red line. I got home about 10:00, it is still really hot and sticky, and now I am going to bed.

Good night,

Tami