Notre Dame

For our carnavales vacation me and several of the other students went to Paris, France to see the city. This was my first time to ever go to Paris so I was really nervous. I didn't speak the language and really didn't know a lot of about the city or its history. I learned so much while I was there. One of my favorite place we were able to see was the Notre Dame, which means "Our Lady". Before I went to Paris, all I knew about the Notre Dame was from the Disney movie "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". This was one of the most amazing cathedrals I have ever seen. It definitely stands out above the city and is an amazing site. Construction on the cathedral began in 1163 during the reign of Louis VII but wasn't finished until 1345 with the completion of the towers. I learned while I was there that at one point the cathedral was at risk to be torn down.  After one of the many wars that France was in the cathedral was in bad shape and was falling apart. The city planners thought that it should just be torn down and rebuilt but after the novel "The hunchback of Notre Dame" by Victor Hugo was published the city planners reconsidered. The novel raised awareness of the cathedral's heritage which in turn sparked new interest in saving the cathedral. All because of one man and his novel a city wide fundraiser began earning enough money to completely restore the cathedral in 1845. I think the outside of the cathedral is magnificent, but the inside is the true beauty of the cathedral. I could almost feel the history and imagine all the things those walls have seen. From wars, to a temporary hospital, to being a very important part of history and one of the most notable cathedrals in the world, the Notre Dame is a site to be seen.