The Washington National Cathedral was architecturally and theogically different to the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. The Cathedral was built in the Gothic style, but in the 20th century. The architects decided to use the same building processes as they did 600 years ago in building the great Cathedrals in Europe. Stone was trucked into Washington and then stone masons carved and fitted each piece in situ. Buttresses, columns, gargoyles, wooden lacework carving, etc, were all signs of a medieval cathedral but built lessvthan 100 years ago. No nails were used for the timber.

There were many fascinating and significant items in the Cathedral. The stone pulpit was given by Canterbury Cathedral and depicts the momentous occasion of the King signing the Magna Carta (an original copy in the Washington Library). One of the stain glass windiws gas a piece of moon rock collected by Apollo 11 crew imbedded within the window. Planets and stars make up this design as the window celebrates human scientific discoveries. The gargoyles of stone carvings on the exterior of the Cathedral serving as waterspouts and protecting the Cathedral from water damage, are grotesque images that are said to scare off evil spirits - one of the gargoyles is in the image of Darth Vada, a Gothic cathedral with a contemporary twist!

Arriving for the 2pm tour we had an excellent tour of the Cathedral and provided with many interesting snippets of information. The President always sits in the front row, on the left side of the nave with the people. Clergy sit in the Choir sections. The current congregation is 1200 people. The Cathedral can seat 3000 on the main floor, with hundreds more in the upper levels. A wealthy benefactor donated 500 year old tapestries (5) telling the story of David and Goliath, and subsequently their images were carved into the ....in the side chapel. The main altar is made of stone from Bethlehem that was gifted to the Cathedral and its altar cloth has a Jerusalem Cross embroidered on the front.

The crypt has 3 main chapels depicting the birth, death and resurrection, andvthe ascension of Christ. There is a large cafe and shop under the main church, the shops selling a range of devotional and spiritual items from handicrafts to books to jewelry. I bought a book on the Cathedral to read at my leisure on its history and also a pair of stained glass cross earings to wear in church....more luggage to pack!

The Cathedral was damaged in the recent earthquake so there was quite a bit of scaffolding on the exterior and interior of the building. As the Cathedral is an Episcopalian church the costs of repairing the building must be born by the church and not the government. They are estimating it will take at least 10 years to raise the necessary funds to complete the repairs.

We took a lift to level 7, no winding staircase to climb, to have a panaromic view of Washington. We could easily see the Washington Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and Capitol.

Again, it would have been terrific to spend a whole day here as there was so much history and to enjoy a quiet reflective moment...but after 2 1/2 hours we had to catch a train back to our hotel. This time we caught a bus down Constitution Avenue to the MET, rather than walk another 35 minute trek.