I’m heavy-hearted today as I watch Notre Dame Cathedral burn. The images of the damage to that 13th century masterpiece take my breath away and make me want to be in Paris right now to support the country. Of course it is the home of the Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit, and the center of Catholicism in France. While I am not Catholic, I love Churches in general and that one most of all. It is also a cultural monument, a work of art and a symbol of a city and a country I love. I haven’t written on this blog in ages and I’m shocked to find I have no digital images of Notre Dame for the first 20 years of my life were all about France and Art.I first visited at 11 or 12 and fell in love with the city and the country.  I do have images of other places in Paris that I love – Sainte Chapelle, the Tuileries, and so many others. I’ve been looking through my photos of France today and realizing that so much of it is still standing. I felt the same way after 9/11. I remember the first time I came back to New York, I was so pleased to see the city and so many tall buildings.Nothing can replace what has been lost but Paris is eternal.

I never write about Art here either for this is a wine blog but it is an enduring interest of mine since I was a wee lass. My Mom is an art historian and an artist and I toyed with the idea of being an art historian myself. In fact I majored in French with a minor in Art History in college. I know the French are resilient and that a rebuilding will occur but I am saddened and feel close to that nation tonight as they watch a piece of themselves implode.