Notre Dame: on the roof and inside Cathédrale de Paris

In 2016, Danté and I took another trip to Paris. This trip was different from our 4th date that took place in Paris. Then we stuck close to our apartment in the 17th arrondissement. In October 2016, we roamed far and wide across Paris. From the right back to the left bank and from Trocadéro to Père Lachaise, we saw as much as we possibly could. And after 2019’s fire at Notre Dame de Paris, I think climbing the stairs to see the roof of the cathédrale was 2016’s most memorable moment.

At that time, it was just something we wanted to take the time to do finally. We both believed we’d be back again. And yet, we decided to do it then because of some driving force that seemed to tell us both somewhere deep inside that we just needed to do it then. As I went to sleep on 15 April 2019, I was so profoundly grateful that we did. The news out of Paris then, said that much of what I loved about Notre Dame was now gone. The news was dire.

The Present Moment

We now know the cathédrale has been rebuilt! And is reopening! Did it help that not too long before the fire a 3D laser map of every detail of Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris was completed? Who knows! Nor do I know what we will all see when Notre Dame reopens to the public. I can’t wait to find out! Hopefully in 2015!

Use this link to plan your visit and learn more.

What Was Lost When Notre Dame Burnt?

In 2019, my sorrow wasn’t just that Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris burnt. It seemed it would never be the same.

It’s true that like a Greyjoy would say on Game of Thrones, ‘What is dead may never die.’ Notre Dame will always live on in all of us who have visited it, who have studied it, who love it. Notre Dame belongs to the people of the world but most particularly to the French. For them it is the standard of measurement for all places in France, the point from which every distance in France is measured.

2019’s loss felt far more significant than the loss of a building.

Because while stones can be put in place again and beams can be raised for a new ceiling, you can’t literally rebuild the past. The cathédrale will reopen but is already garnering criticism for how “new” it looks.

I wonder if we took for granted that the cathédrale would always be there for us. To see every time we returned to Paris. It is a representation of how fragile human existence is. Anyone and anything can be taken from us at any time. We shouldn’t take a second of life, or a person we love, for granted. Ever.

Instead of dwelling further on losses, I want to share photos of our climb to the roof and photos I took inside Notre Dame. Danté took a few of these and the rest are mine.

This is what it looked like in 2016:

Views from, and of, the Roof

Inside Notre Dame

Let us celebrate together what Notre Dame was and find hope for what it will be!