Every tour has to start somewhere, and preferably at a place where there’s books. And what better way to begin an intense day of sightseeing than with Library of Congress?

I have to be honest with you: in general I find grand and magnificent libraries a little … intimidating. I prefer cheap paperbacks to Gutenberg bibles, chaotic second hand bookshops to grand rooms with pillars and painted ceilings, and if a book has to be kept behind glass it ceases to be a book to me and becomes a historical artifact instead, which is interesting but not inspiring. So I came to Library of Congress prepared to pretend to admire it and feel guilty about not really feeling it.

And yet… it was amazing. There were inspiring quotes near the ceiling (“Too low they build who build beneath the stars”, “Words are also actions and actions are a kind of words”), The Main Reading Room was like a renaissance square with what looked like separate buildings that all contained books. The entire building was just an celebration of enlightment, the evolution of civilisation, the good old greeks and the best in mankind. And in these times we live in I found it impossible to resist the beauty of believing in the best in people.

Let me end this blog post by quoting their ceiling again: The chief glory of every people arises from its authors.