The Bloke and I watched in horror last night as the news reports of the devastating fire at Notre Dame were broadcast.
We were lucky to visit the cathedral in 2011 – I surprised him with a five-day visit to Paris and Notre Dame was at the top of the list of things that we wanted to see. It was truly a magnificent experience – neither of us follow a faith but couldn’t help be more than a little overwhelmed at the beauty, architecture and history of such an incredible building.
It was heartbreaking to see the spire and parts of the roof collapse, but I was, as always, grateful for the incredible response from the fire services and touched by the response from the public – my Twitter feed was filled with songs being performed by crowds that had gathered to pay their respects to the cathedral as the blaze was being put out.
It’s a sad day…
Suzie Speaks 
Really sad…
Totally…
We sat and watched the news in horror last night too – our last visit to Paris was in 2010, and we too visited Notre Dame (although neither of us are religious) and it was so upsetting to watch the footage, especially when the spire fell… what a shame 😦
I think they have already launched a competition to design the new spire which is exciting!
It’s just awful what a beautiful piece of history which has stood the test of time for 800 years. Thankfully the amazing firefighters have managed to contain the blaze and the structure itself isn’t 100% damaged.
Totally – and they have so much information and data to rebuild the destroyed parts too!
So heartbreaking to watch on the news.
It really was…
Truly awful. A national legacy destroyed 😦
Thankfully they have been able to salvage a lot of it which is great!
Indeed. I remember going there when I was just a little kid. Sad to see some part of it go way.
I’ve been really pleased to see the plans they have for it already!
The only good news coming out of Paris is how so many individuals and companies are committing to help rebuild and restore – my wife and I last attended mass there on Christmas eve 2017…
Absolutely! I bet the mass was stunning!
Yes, and we will be there when it reopens as well!
A truly sad day. I never got to see it, but our daughters toured it while they were visiting Paris and London. I am so glad they were able to see the beauty of it. My heart breaks that this happened.
You still will be able to see it thankfully!
I also watched in horror. So very sad for France and the world to lose such an incredible wonder.
Absolutely – I’m so pleased they managed to save so much of it!
Any time something of such historic importance is lost or severely damaged, it should affect us all. Thankfully, so many visual tours have been made, and pictures by others, that we can still enjoy it until it is (hopefully) returned to part of its former glory. But, watching the footage was heartbreaking.
Absolutely! I know that there’s a lot of planning already been started so I’m hoping to see it sooner rather than later