Notre Dame Cathedral Research Paper

642 Words2 Pages

Sunday started an entirely new experience. We decided to attend the international service at Notre Dame Cathedral. Although pretty much all of it was in French and about two minutes of actual English, it was still a really cool experience and one that I knew was priceless. I think that growing up Catholic has given me a lot of respect for the buildings and the intentions of their architects. Sitting in Notre Dame really not understanding anything the priest was saying gave me the opportunity to sit and really admire my surroundings. After the mass ended, we all sat together for a quick lunch. A quick lunch here being anything less than three hours, mind you. Then, Olivia and I broke off from the group and we decided to go walk along the Champ-Elysees …show more content…

When we finally arrived just before the monument, we noticed some well-dressed men and women with sashes bearing the colors of France, a small children’s group all wearing uniforms, and a band with people of varying ages and instruments. They started walking in an organized fashion and I turned to Olivia and I asked her if she wanted to jump in the parade with me. The next thing we knew, we were marching down the police-barricaded street, four by four, right up to the Arc De Triomphe. Olivia was pulled aside because a police officer noticed that she did not have a badge. Without a clue I was leaving Olivia behind, I marched on. We stopped directly underneath the Arc De Triomphe. After a flower processional and walking by about 10 guards with large, automatic weapons strapped to their chests, I started thinking, “my goodness, what am I doing?” After about 10 minutes, I came to the conclusion that this was some memorial or honorary ceremony for the Unknown Soldier. All the exits were blocked off, keeping the public away and those not meant to be there — aka me — out. Finally, after singing several songs and the French National Anthem, the group disbursed. I was able to make it in the back of some very official looking

Open Document