One of the World's Great Cathedrals: Notre Dame

Paris has been around for 1700 years, having first been settled by the Romans. The site where Notre Dame cathedral is was first the site of a Roman forum and baths. We explored the underground ruins at the plaza before heading over to the cathedral to take a look. Presumably, the cathedral is a place of Christian worship in this fairly secular country. It has all the elements; however, the throngs of people crawling all over it weren't there to worship but to gawk. We did think it was notable that while state-supported Westminster Abbey in London manages to charge f12 per head to see one of England's spiritual centers, Notre Dame is free to all. For all that, Notre Dame is a beautiful and spiritual place. The gothic architecture is indescribably inspiring. The giant rose window awes. We also used the opportunity to teach Olivia, who proclaimed Notre Dame "the most beautiful place on earth", a little about architecture with mini-lectures on barrel vaults, ribbed vaults, flying buttresses and gargoyles. I would not say there was high retention but maybe something stuck. Cecily reported that she liked it, too. One wonders what she thinks she saw, since she doubled over on Dad's shoulders and slept for the entire visit. For Dad's part, he saw the bottom half of the Cathedral, it being almost impossible to look up with forty pounds of dead weight hanging around one's neck.