The news today of the terrible fire at Notre Dame was a reminder of our visits through the years, to the "world's most visited cathedral and Europe's most visited historic monument, with 12-14 million visitors each year. Located on the Ile de la Cite in the Seine River, construction began in the mid 12th century and continued for some 200 years." The Notre Dame was exceptionally beautiful inside and outside, with its rose windows, flying buttresses, gargoyles, and statuary.
The Notre Dame "is a symbol of Paris, a symbol of peace..." It is also kilometre zero - the spot from which all distances to other cities from Paris are measured.
I first visited Paris and went to Notre Dame in 1976, on my first trip to Europe. I was "wowed" by Paris and humbled by the Notre Dame. My next visit was with our family in December 1992, Papa and our girls first visit to Paris. We returned in August 1995. Whitney studied at the Sorbonne her junior year of college, and lived in the 11th arrondissement, just north of Notre Dame. I spent a week with Whitney in Paris in February 2004. Papa and I spent New Year's 2009 in Paris, in the Maria’s, again just north of Notre Dame, walking all about the city in freezing cold, arm in arm as all Parisians were. We were back again in April 2014 for Easter weekend, after spending a week in Normandy with our children and grandchildren. I posted lots of photos of Notre Dame and Paris here. Papa and I think of Paris as the “capital of the world.” It is an elegant, well planned city, with iconic monuments, incredible food, and the best collections of art of any city we’ve traveled to. We will miss the Notre Dame as we’ve known it.
I first visited Paris and went to Notre Dame in 1976, on my first trip to Europe. I was "wowed" by Paris and humbled by the Notre Dame. My next visit was with our family in December 1992, Papa and our girls first visit to Paris. We returned in August 1995. Whitney studied at the Sorbonne her junior year of college, and lived in the 11th arrondissement, just north of Notre Dame. I spent a week with Whitney in Paris in February 2004. Papa and I spent New Year's 2009 in Paris, in the Maria’s, again just north of Notre Dame, walking all about the city in freezing cold, arm in arm as all Parisians were. We were back again in April 2014 for Easter weekend, after spending a week in Normandy with our children and grandchildren. I posted lots of photos of Notre Dame and Paris here. Papa and I think of Paris as the “capital of the world.” It is an elegant, well planned city, with iconic monuments, incredible food, and the best collections of art of any city we’ve traveled to. We will miss the Notre Dame as we’ve known it.
