Bart Bear's Blog

Here's the front of the big cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. You can see the back of it in the picture three posts below. This is one of the cathedrals that the Oldies rave about when they are telling friends about their big (bearless) trip. Notre Dame was one of the very first Gothic cathedrals to be built. Construction started way back in 1163, but not completed until 1345. It was one of the first buildings to use external flying buttresses, the prop-things you can see in the picture of the back. These allowed the builders to make the walls higher and thinner without them falling down. During the French Revolution a lot of the fittings and art was destroyed or stolen. Today, it is very impressive inside (so they tell me). There are lots of statues and stained glass and a huge pipe organ. The only problems visitors have is that thousands of people visit it every day, so you get shoved around a lot. There are also lots of pick-pockets around. I keep telling the Oldies that a guard-bear in the handbag is essential; they really do HAVE to take me next time.

Labels: France