Welcome Back, Notre-Dame de Paris

Notre-Dame de Paris -- April 2024

When I think of Paris, there are two iconic sights that come to mind immediately. One is the Eiffel Tower, as seen in the posters above, and the other is the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris.   

I first saw Notre Dame in 1966 and there aren't many buildings that have surpassed it in my thoughts and memories. I, and millions of others, were  devastated at the fire that took place in the Cathedral in April 2019. The photographs were horrifying and it seemed, Notre Dame could never been rebuilt. 

But five plus years later and the extraordinary work of thousands, Notre Dame has been rebuilt and and opened back to the public. I was hoping that it would be open during my visit last April, but alas, it would be over half a year until the Cathedral would reopen. 

Watching the construction taking place last spring

Rebuilding Notre-Dame de Paris 

It was a thrill to see the reopening of the Cathedral yesterday. The first mass since the fire was held this morning continuing a centuries long tradition of a church on this site. The first cathedral in Paris was built in the fourth century and the first stone of Notre Dame was laid in 1163. Almost 900 years later the Cathedral of Paris is open once again for prayer and worship.

Life in New York has been hectic. I've got a long list of things I'd like to do in the next few  weeks and as ever, the days are slipping away. I had a wonderful visit with K in New York last week. We spent time laughing, catching up and seeing the sights of New York City in December. I've got several posts to share and hope to post them this week. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and keep cozy!

  

Once Again, We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Content



The façade of Notre-Dame de Paris, Our Lady of Paris 

July, 1990

 

I had the pictures ready to do the post for "I" this afternoon when I saw an alert on my phone about a fire at Notre-Dame. I turned on the television and have barely turned it off the rest of the day. I did spend an hour or so going through pictures of travels past. Despite having been to Paris nine times, not one of those times was in the cellphone era. I did take pictures, but usually no more than two or three rolls of film with my instamatic camera. I've got a good number of grainy, out of focus pictures and only three or four of Notre-Dame, one of my all-time favorite places anywhere. This is the best of the lot.

 

Like so many of my favorite things I took this beautiful church somewhat for granted. In my mind it was both monumental and eternal and it would always be there if I traveled to Paris again. But I learned the lesson once again of how life can be ephemeral, and some days all we have left are memories. Thankfully, a great deal of the structure of Notre-Dame remains and it will be rebuilt. I'm hoping that one day I can take my favorite walk in Paris. I will begin with a visit to the beautiful heart of the city, Notre-Dame de Paris, rebuilt once more. I'll slowly walk to my favorite island in the River Seine, the Ile Saint-Louis. I'll spend an hour or two exploring the streets and taking photographs of the seventeenth and eighteenth century buildings. I'll finish my perfect Paris afternoon at my favorite ice cream store anywhere, Berthillon, eating ice cream and watching the Seine flow by.  

 All hearts are with you, Notre-Dame de Paris.