Beauty, horror, and unachieved peace

Day 7

Today was the day that first we went to the famous cathedral of Notre Dam. Here we read aloud as a group some excerpts from the Hunchback of Notre Dam by Victor Hugo. Here we also discussed the concepts of Gothic architecture and how the Gothic ideal was the primary theme in the story. For in the story there is a representative of great beauty as well as great ugliness, and there is the hope of romance which is dashed by the world and all of its inherent cruelty, ending in the brutal death of both of the main characters. This combined with a real jerk for an antagonist makes for a really depressing tale, which falls in with the Gothic ideal of beauty and hoped wrapped in corruption and cruelty.

This cathedral also has the Rose Window, which was completed in about 1225 A.D. The window in Notre Dam in particular is responsible for the placement of several of it’s like in other cathedrals throughout the country. I was particularly fascinated with not only the intricate detail in that enormous window, but with the amazing details in the sculptors on the front of the chapel depicting everything from the Garden of Eden to the weighing of souls at the gates of heaven. Talk about a reminder to keep with the doctrine.

Next we went as a group to the Trocadero overlooking much of Paris including the Eiffel Tower. Here we took several group and individual pictures for the families and friends back in the states. One thing that surprised me while this was taking place was that people from all different nationalities would stop and stare at us seeming to try and figure out what the heck we were doing. I guess this is to be expected when a group of people stand around with a dry erase board making funny faces at each other with messages on the board. In retrospect it does seem rather comical in that context.

Something else that has been brought to my attention since this took place was that the Trocadero is the location of the famous picture of Adolf Hitler with the Eiffel Tower in the background. Now I have no love for that particular set of event, but I must say that it was fascinating to be standing in the same place that something with that much historical significance took place. This also gives me pointed reminder in the necessity of understanding different cultures to avoid events like that from ever happening again.

Unfortunately I was unable to continue much beyond this due to the fact that my back decided to slip out alignment on the way to the scheduled picnic, for which I am profoundly regretful for the park we were supposed to go to looked beautiful and peaceful which I must admit that I missed in the large city environment of Paris. So I had to proceed back to the hotel with as much expediency as could be managed to get my spine back into alignment so as to be able to continue on the next days festivities.