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

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.

Well it is more than just a building, but it does remind you that nothing can be taken for granted and you should not assume there will always be a "tomorrow."

That said I do agree that you need to try to balance things. After my divorce I was a single mother starting her career all over again and it doesn't matter how "in the moment" I wanted to live... travel was not happening. It was just not in the budget. My son was diagnosed on the spectrum, adhd, anxiety and I dug myself into a hole paying for the early intervention that he needed to be so successful 7 years later. I don't regret it for a second but no matter who had died in my life or how I felt about living in the moment, vacation was NOT happening at that point.

7 years later I have worked my butt off to be where I am and I can afford a vacation every so often but I still can't afford to just drop everything and live for the moment (I will have been saving for my next cruise for 2 years by the time I take it). It's a luxury to be able to do that that many people cannot afford. But the loss of a great icon does make me glad that I spent a summer in France in college and get to see it and sad that it has been destroyed and hopeful that they will rebuild so future generations will be able to experience the splendor. I have no doubt my son will experience it, but not this year.
 
It's so sad this happened. I've been trying to get to Paris for years and haven't made it yet. I've always wanted to go into Notre Dame.
 
Absolute agree with this. It has been brought home to me several times after we've visited a place and then read later that something has happened. We were in Volcano National Park just a few months before Kilauea erupted. We visited the Azure Window on Gozo in Malta about a year before it collapsed. We were in Tunisia and went to the Bardo Museum about a year before the troubles. There's so many things that I'm so grateful to have been able to see that are no longer available that I no longer think that I can see something next year or when I retire.

Buildings can be replaced.

But history can't. Even if it's rebuilt, it's not rebuilt by the hands of those who originally touched it. I know that a lot of what we see today that's historical is rebuilt, refurbished or renovated (or duplicated) but a lot of it is still that which was created by someone hundreds of years ago. That's what I always think of when I'm in a historical building and you can't replace that with modern replicas.
 
I was very fortunate to visit it in 2011. I was even thinking about going back this year and climbing to the top where the gargoyles are/were since we didn't do that the first time. I hope to see it again. I agree with the OP. I am very fortunate in my life right now money-wise to be able to travel almost on a whim (I still work full time like many of us on here) and after losing my Mom and sister at such a young age for both of them it has placed a mantra in my head frequently: we are never promised tomorrow. So I've been traveling and trying to do the things I want to now at a relatively young age and not wait until I'm retired or physically unable to do so.
 


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?

YES!!! :thumbsup2

I literally just said this to my husband.

I say this to my husband too, but more than once! LOL Every once in a while he starts to mention how expensive our trips are and that we always have a trip planned! I remind him of the above and tell him that it's better to have a trip planned than not planned!!! :rolleyes1
 
Absolute agree with this. It has been brought home to me several times after we've visited a place and then read later that something has happened. We were in Volcano National Park just a few months before Kilauea erupted. We visited the Azure Window on Gozo in Malta about a year before it collapsed. We were in Tunisia and went to the Bardo Museum about a year before the troubles. There's so many things that I'm so grateful to have been able to see that are no longer available that I no longer think that I can see something next year or when I retire.



But history can't. Even if it's rebuilt, it's not rebuilt by the hands of those who originally touched it. I know that a lot of what we see today that's historical is rebuilt, refurbished or renovated (or duplicated) but a lot of it is still that which was created by someone hundreds of years ago. That's what I always think of when I'm in a historical building and you can't replace that with modern replicas.

unless you are talking about the attic space, most of the original masonry of the building dating back to the 13th century is intact. it will require some repair but it's in great shape considering.
 
I said this to my husband as well. We have put off the trip to Pairs and now I am sorry. We are booked for Italy-Greece next year and we are going to do everything we can to make that happen. Life happens, but it is an important trip to me. With a bit of good fortune and good health, we will go. Life is short and these old, treasured places are not given to be with us forever.
 


I went to see it when I was 12 and haven't been back to Paris since then. My biggest memory of it is kind of funny though. It was raining most of the week we were in Paris and my Stepdad had bought a cheap umbrella that, when you pushed the button to open it, often shot off the handle, like a projectile. We started calling it the James Bond umbrella because it was like a secret weapon. Now my Stepdad was a pretty devout Catholic, so seeing Notre Dame was a big deal. We walked through, and at the end he crossed himself and said a prayer. Just as we were about to step out, he went to open the umbrella. It shot out and hit a little old lady square in the back. My Stepdad went, "OH FUDGE!" Only he didn't say Fudge if you know what I mean. Out loud, right after saying a prayer, in one of the oldest most sacred churches in Europe. Everyone in the immediate vicinity turned and stared at us. The little old lady was OK. I think we finally threw the umbrella out shortly thereafter.
 
When I took the girls on our first cruise I thought I had leukemia. I thought there was a good chance we'd never get to do something like that again. Thankfully when I returned more testing showed I was in the clear. But it really woke me up. Making memories with my children is worth way more than anything else I could give them.
 
The main focus of my trip to Paris is actually the Normandy cemeteries. I want to go to honor my late dad and all who served in WWII.
We've been to Normandy and it is a very moving experience. Be sure to spend some time exploring the nearby towns as well. You'll still see much of the impact of the fighting on the buildings there.
 
Honestly, while the fire was a true tragedy I wish had never happened, The restoration project that is sure to follow is much more interesting to me than the Cathedral on it's own. It will be fascinating to see how they combine old and new to remake the Cathedral. 100% a site to visit on any upcoming trip.
 
Honestly, while the fire was a true tragedy I wish had never happened, The restoration project that is sure to follow is much more interesting to me than the Cathedral on it's own. It will be fascinating to see how they combine old and new to remake the Cathedral. 100% a site to visit on any upcoming trip.
I totally agree with you. This cathedral has been repaired in the past and wasn't 100% original - sometimes what comes of it is even more beautiful than what was there before. The old is not erased but our generation can leave its mark as well.
 
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?

I totally agree. It's a big, beautiful world out there, and so many people don't consider or put off seeing it. I'm so thankful I was able to tour Notre Dame several times, and that I took my DD to see it several years ago. Nothing man-made is permanent, and there is too much out there for me to try and see it all, but I'm working on seeing a few bits. To tie it back to DCL, the Norway/Iceland/Scotland cruise was amazing because it took me to places I never would have gone to, and made it so easy to visit several countries I had never been to. Life is short. Go see something. Take your family. Have an adventure.
 
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.

That is an amazing cruise! My in-laws did that when they moved back to Chile for a while. That one is definitely on my bucket list. I will have make do seeing it from the land this year though. Michener's Hawaii describes missionaries traveling around the cape in the beginning. After reading that and finding out it's the number one location for rogue waves in the world, it really makes it awe inspiring.
 
Well you have to or should live within your means. Some people like doing the same old same old Caribbean cruise every year. That’s better than doing nothing but they should get out and see the world. Even if you are extremely rich you can’t see everything bit there’s a lot more out there than the Bahamas and Caribbean.
 

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