Dale texted me at work this afternoon, saying, “Notre-Dame is burning in a massive fire. They are trying desperately to save it…”
I had seen this as well, but I had to stifle my tears. I didn’t want to cry in front of my co-workers.
We visited Paris, and Notre-Dame, in 2015. We loved the cathedral so much that we returned multiple times across those ten days and also took a tour of the bell tower. Over the past few hours I’ve been trying to summarize in concrete detail why it was so special, and I’m failing. Of course I wrote about the cathedral after the trip, and you can read about our experience and see lots of wonderful photos here. But I’m at a loss to add anything more.
So I will just say this: Dale and I are heartsick about what’s happened to Notre-Dame, the heart of Paris. We are sad for the city, for France, and for all of us, because Notre-Dame is one of those exceptional places that belongs to us all.