Notre Dame de Paris was started in 1163 and is such an imposing yet beautiful place. It underwent a lot of damage and destruction, being at the epicenter of the French Revolution of 1789. As I mentioned earlier, much of its statuary and stained glass has been replaced over the centuries (approx 25% of glass & statues are original). The acoustics are fabulous and we again were fortunate in arriving when there was a service being held. It was a glorious, sunny day, so the stained glass windows were spectacular as was the cool statue outside of Charlemagne.
The next day, Hannah and I climbed the bell tower. You get a great view of the the roof & architecture, the city & river and a bird’s eye view of the gargoyles and the interior of the bell tower. The last set of stairs, up to the very top of tower is so skinny and there’s only one set, so it’s one way and you’re only allowed 5-10 minutes at the very top. It was great. My students have heard me say many times how amazing I find it that such a massive and beautiful structure was built (and endures) hundreds of years before Columbus came to the ‘New World’. For me, it really puts the long history of Europe and the ‘newness’ of this country in perspective.
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