The news about Notre Dame today just reinforced to me...

[fredandkell]

that you may regret the trips you don't take, but you certainly won't regret the trips you do take. Life is short. Take the cruise. Plan the trip. Take the kids. Make it happen. Who knows if the chance will be there in the future?

 

[amiskell28]

I literally just said this to my husband. I've always wanted to see the Notre Dame. So sad.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I was thinking the same thing. I've been to France and visited Notre Dame. It has been on DD's wish list of things to see but I was putting off a European trip with her until after she graduated high school. She's a freshman now. I had a chance to go to Paris last year for business and could have taken her, but it would have been difficult to work out the logistics so I passed on the opportunity. Now I regret I didn't try harder to work it out so we could go.

 

[HollyH]

Sadly, the ABD Knights and Lights is the trip we'll be taking when my DH retires. Fredandkell is right. Life is short, make it happen.

Such a devastating loss.

 

[OKW Lover]

Good advice! Like many, I waited for retirement to do a lot of traveling. Making up for lost time now. Do it when you can before its too late.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We are going to Paris before the WBTA this year. I hope we can at least pass by this beautiful, historical cathedral.
Just last week, we watched the movie at the French pavilion and I wondered what it would be like to see Notre Dame without the scaffolding that’s in the movie.

 

[OKW Lover]

We are going to Paris before the WBTA this year. I hope we can at least pass by this beautiful, historical cathedral.
Just last week, we watched the movie at the French pavilion and I wondered what it would be like to see Notre Dame without the scaffolding that’s in the movie.

Similar concerns. We are doing a London/Paris/DL Paris ABD later this year and I hope to see Notre Dame in its glory....at least from the outside.

 

[GPaLarry]

I have been there at least three times (in the Army and after) and each time I marveled at how it was ever constructed over the ages with the tools and skills available. Disney has a movie, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," that certainly is a beloved story about this cathedral. If you can get the original movie with Charles Laughton, please do. Not a musical, in black and white and a serious theme. That image will haunt you, but give you another interpretation of the vast, vast history of that place. I am truly heartbroken about what happened today.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I have been there at least three times (in the Army and after) and each time I marveled at how it was ever constructed over the ages with the tools and skills available. Disney has a movie, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," that certainly is a beloved story about this cathedral. If you can get the original movie with Charles Laughton, please do. Not a musical, in black and white and a serious theme. That image will haunt you, but give you another interpretation of the vast, vast history of that place. I am truly heartbroken about what happened today.

I did see that movie with my father. You are right about the impression it had on me. Times have changed for the better.

 

[tlprice]

I have been to Notre Dame once, but had not gotten a chance to take my daughter. We have been a lot of other places, but hadn't gotten there. She is very sad. I've been looking through my pictures from my time there.

We had been talking about doing the westbound transatlantic cruise in September, but we would both have to miss 8 days of school. Everyone I talked to about it, said this same thing, just do it. You have to take advantage of the opportunities if you can. This weekend, we took the plunge and booked the cruise. This just emphasizes to me that I did the right thing.

 

[Minniemouse37]

I visited in 2014 and it made such an impression on me...it’s such a special place to so many and what unfolded today was such a tremendous loss to the world. So very thankful they were able to save what they did and it wasn’t a total loss. I agree don’t wait...as Buddha said the trouble is we think we have time...

 

[pixiedustedme]

I'm taking my son to Europe this summer and the trip includes a few days in Paris. This is a tragic loss for the whole world. My son and I will miss seeing an intact Notre Dame in June.

However, as others have noted, this tragedy reaffirms the importance of travel. I don't believe in putting it off until I'm retired, when I probably won't be up for it, anyway, given my health issues. Also, my son is the best travel partner I've ever had, and I want to travel as much as I can with him before he grows up and moves away. I want to see and to have him see the wonders of the world.

 

[soniam]

Glad we went, even though DS was only 3 and probably doesn't remember it too much. We are going to Chile for xmas. I have been wanting to do this trip since our son was born. My husband's family is from there, and he still has a lot of close relatives there. We have both been, but I want my son to know his heritage. None of his cousins have been, and he's the youngest at 13. I am trying to get family to go, but I think they think it's expensive and not worth it. I am glad we are doing it, even if no one else goes.

 

[Snyders22000]

Agreed. We took a last minute trip to Paris over spring break a few weeks ago. We found a good deal on flights and decided to just go. It was our entire family’s first time to France. We took a guided family tour of the inside and outside of Notre Dame. Our kids are 10,8,6 years old. I am so glad that they were able to experience visiting before this tragedy. They were all visibly touched and understood the importance of what was lost when I told them the news after school today.

 

[smmco]

It's just a building isn't it? I understand the history of the building, but losing it doesn't give me the urgency to travel at all costs. Losing a friend or family member to illness or accident in the prime of their life always reaffirms to me how precious life is. Buildings can be replaced.

 

[bumbershoot]

It's just a building isn't it? I understand the history of the building, but losing it doesn't give me the urgency to travel at all costs. Losing a friend or family member to illness or accident in the prime of their life always reaffirms to me how precious life is. Buildings can be replaced.

My mom always wanted to go to Turkey. There was something about it that called to her. She yearned for it. She put it off until after my brother and I were out of college and she’d paid off the plus loans and everything stabilized.

And then she got leukemia and died from medical errors and missed diagnoses while in remission.

That was travel she truly wanted to do. And she never got to do it. And while I have zero interest in visiting Turkey, SHE wanted to, and I’m so sad that she didn’t do it.

Buildings or people or food or sights or mountains or *whatever it is* that makes YOU travel is what can cause this feeling.

But then...there are travelers and there are vacationers. Sometimes they coincide, but not always.


I am not religious, but two cathedrals I’ve seen have taken my breath away and amazed me. National Cathedral in DC and one in Galway, Ireland. I can see why people are in mourning over this.

 

[pixiedustedme]

It's just a building isn't it? I understand the history of the building, but losing it doesn't give me the urgency to travel at all costs. Losing a friend or family member to illness or accident in the prime of their life always reaffirms to me how precious life is. Buildings can be replaced.

No, it isn't just a building. Your local Walmart is just a building. Calling the Notre Dame "just a building" is like calling the American flag "just a piece of cloth". Like the flag, it is very important to many people.

The Notre Dame cathedral is a sacred place for millions, with deep religious, historical and cultural significance. It has existed for centuries, and is a masterpiece of architecture that required both genius and spiritual inspiration to design, as well as the toil of thousands of people and almost two centuries to build.

Like other great works of art (such as Shakespeare's plays or Mozart's music), the Notre Dame trancends any one life, because it enriches and has enriched the lives of millions of people in the past, present, and future. When something like that is hurt, all who care about it are hurt. That is why so many people are emotionally affected by this tragedy.

 

[bobbiwoz]

that you may regret the trips you don't take, but you certainly won't regret the trips you do take. Life is short. Take the cruise. Plan the trip. Take the kids. Make it happen. Who knows if the chance will be there in the future?

In March we took a Celebrity Cruise around the Horn of South America with our friends who will both be 80 this year. What a wonderful experience it was, and I must say neither DH nor I were excited about going, it was our friends Dream. Boy are we glad we went. Chile, Argentina and Uruguay are beautiful countries, the Horn and Strait of Magellan figure importantly in history.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

It's just a building isn't it? I understand the history of the building, but losing it doesn't give me the urgency to travel at all costs. Losing a friend or family member to illness or accident in the prime of their life always reaffirms to me how precious life is. Buildings can be replaced.

I don't know quite how to describe it, but no, it isn't just a building. Having stood in that cathedral and admired the intricate carvings, the awe-inspiring beauty of the rose windows, and felt amazement at what the 13th century workers were able to construct, I don't look at pictures of Notre Dame and see just a building. I wouldn't call the Mona Lisa just a piece of canvas. I had an emotional response to the fire yesterday that was very close to grief. While I'm certain Notre Dame will be rebuilt, it won't be the same.

 

[aggiedog]

Notre Dame, for many French, represents the heart of their culture. The bells were rung for many reasons, celebrating victories or in honor of the fallen. It sits in the epicenter of Paris, I believe literally on top of where Paris was originally founded. I'm not sure that we even have anything comparable in the US. While buildings can be rebuilt, and this one will be, I can understand their hurt.

We had a very meaningful structure on my college campus collapse, killing 10+ students. While no one else would have really understood, students dying that way was heart wrenching for alumni and students alike. I can completely empathize with the physical gut wrench that many feel about Notre Dame.