French Word(s) of the Day: Notre Dame (no-trah dawm)- our Lady

 

I discovered tonight just how many pictures I’ve taken over the years of Notre Dame.  It’s just so photogenic.

(It’s not this tilted, I’m just bad at straight angles.)

I was so incredibly sad to see the fire engulfing Notre Dame on the news.  That cathedral was one of my first glimpses into Paris.  I won’t lie that a major part of this was because Disney had just made a movie about a certain cathedral and the hunchback who manned the towers.

I’ve only been up the towers once.  I was ten, and there were spiral staircases.  It was terrifying (as all cathedral towers and spiral staircases are), and no one has ever convinced me to go up it again.

But the cathedral was magnificent.  Even as a child, I knew it was something special.

When I went again as an adult,  I came armed with more historical knowledge and appreciation for the architecture.  It looked big, but also somehow smaller.

One of my foyers during my time spent living in Paris was by Notre Dame.  I went past it everyday on my way to school.  I used to love when I was going in the morning and there weren’t really any tourists yet.  That was when I felt like it was mine and mine alone.  Looking at it, how could anyone feel anything but lucky?

It became a good meeting spot.  Everyone knew where it was, and it was in the middle of some of the best places to go out.  The Seine was right there, and we could easily go down by the river to casually drink with our friends.

The Eiffel Tower is an iconic, but I’ve always preferred Notre Dame.  Stone is solid.  Stone contains hidden depths.  Stone is art.

Tonight, we mourn the loss of centuries of artistic development in an icon and all that it stands for.

 

But also, I really, really hope they find a way to save my favorite sassy knight.

Prayers for Notre Dame. ❤