The Fire at Notre Dame Cathedral
The date of the 15th April 2019 is a date we will always remember , it was the day the famous Notre Dame Cathedral de Paris (Our Lady of Paris ) was severely damaged by fire. The 12th Century Catholic Cathedral is the centre piece of Paris and located on the banks of River Seine . The fire broke out at 6.20pm and by the time it was extinguished the internal artefacts and structures were destroyed. For the first time since 1803 , there was no Christmas Mass at Notre Dame.
President Macron at the time declared the restoration would start immediately and be completed by April 2024. No effort or expense would be spared to restore this national monument. I read this week that the restoration is on course and the Cathedral will open on time.
Notre Dam Cathedral Paris
Why is this important to us? , because we were there. On Monday 15th April 2019 , within an hour before the fire breaking out , I took the above picture. We snapped away happily before boarding the metro at the Cathedral stop and headed back to the Camp site at Versailles. By the time we reached the site the Cathedral was well alight to the shock of Parisians, Catholics and non Catholics everywhere.
The trip to Paris was overall an unforgettable experience. We have visited most European Capitals but Paris is one of our top three favourites. Rome for its history , Paris for its culture and Madrid for its people and the Churros 😁. Visiting Paris in a motorhome is no easy fete of course , navigating the Paris ring road and the approach to the site was probably as tight as we have experienced as it’s in the centre of the district of Versailles , but of course worth it.
We stayed at Camping Huttopia, which on first glance the translation I read the words ‘nature site’ and thought well each to their own , as a Yorkshireman I’m not removing my clothes in public, its not because I am particularly modest , but where would I put my wallet ?. However reading on, it meant that the site was in a haven of nature, so reassured we battled the Paris roads, the network of cul de sac’s on the approach to this inner city site and hit the train down town. The site was set in a woodland in the heart of this urban city area.
The campsite location is shown above and the website link is here . The site is fine , functional and clean and very convenient both for the train into Paris and in walking distance to the Palace of Versailles. The Metro was clean and efficient and we were soon into the centre of Paris for a buffet of museums , monuments and the national symbols of the capital of France.
No visit to Paris is complete without a tour of The Palace of Versailles , the seat of the French Monarchy until their line was rather abruptly cut short by the will of the people and the displaced aristo’s were spread far and wide, helped of course by the heroic actions of the ‘Black Fingernail’ . Oh no sorry, that was Sid James in the film Carry on Don’t Loose your head. Funny how with the passing of time fact and fiction can merge 😂. 30 mins brisk walking was all that’s required to reach the Palace from the site but you could ride two stops on the train.
Five years will have passed since both our last visit and the reopening of the Notre Dame, perhaps it’s time to visit again.
