And on the seventh day we read Hugo.

The morning of our seventh day in Paris is one from an English major’s dreams. After a quick pop by our favorite pastry shop we took the metro over to Notre Dame to read from Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame. We sat in the gardens behind the cathedral and read Hugo’s detailed and oh so Gothic description of the church itself. During the lecture I was surprised to find out that Notre Dame was once in danger of being torn down. To someone of my generation and nationality it seems unthinkable, a Paris without Notre Dame, it would be like a Paris without the Eiffel tower (which was apparently also in risk being taken down!) There are elements of the city that are what shape Paris in the eyes of an outsider; things that help to define what Paris is to someone who is not there. Notre Dame, to me, has always been one of those buildings. When thinking of the architecture of the building the mind tends to bring up images of the grand flying buttresses around the nave of the building and the famous stained glass rose windows; during the lecture it was discussed that all of the gargoyles and the tall gothic spire are all 18th century additions to the church in order to make it seem more “gothic”. I had heard this bit of information before the trip, but to actually see the building in life and be able to really get an idea of the scale and detail of the original parts of the building makes this “need” seem all the more absurd. I am amazed to imagine someone thinking that it needed more elements, gothic or not, to make it worth saving. Reading Victor Hugo in the shadow of Notre Dame gave the selection such life; as the details were read aloud it was possible to look up and note them for your self and add them to the world that the words had already begun to shape in your mind.
After Notre Dame the group went to take pictures in a place that seemed to be built for just that purpose. The square at Trocadéro is perhaps on of the greatest views of the Eiffel tower available from that side of the river. The large stone pavilion makes for a perfect frame for photographs with the Eiffel tower at your back. While we were there, taking thank you and I love you pictures for the folks back home, I couldn’t help but notice that most everyone there was doing something very similar. There was a Spanish couple who, from as best as I can guess, were tango dancers; they took pictures doing turns and poses in front of the tower. There was a fashion photographer taking pictures of a caterpillar eyed girl in stiletto boots jumping for the camera; but most of all I heard group photos being arranged in dozens of languages and saw everyone smiling for the photo in front of this symbol of Paris.
The evening of the seventh day was another spent in a dream-like setting. It was the 21st birthday of a friend that was along on the trip, so went back to the base of the Eiffel tower and drank champagne (excuse me “sparking wine”) in the park at the base of the tower. We took pictures and watched in sparkle while we toasted the birthday fun. What an ending to a hectic day, one that only Paris could offer to you.