Walking up to the taped off scene of the Notre Dame Cathedral, WPTV producer Amanda Foley felt the mood right away. “It is a very packed as you can imagine but very somber," Foley said.
On vacation, seeing the 856-year-old building was on her bucket list
It's a different kind of visit now.
She described the view from the front of the building: “I was expecting to see like, smoke damage and that kind of thing, especially to these walls, but there’s nothing.”
But just a quick walk around the corner, it was a much different story. “The spire would have been right in the middle of that.”
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Foley was only 15 minutes away when the flames broke out Monday. “Now it kind of makes it more of a reality. Before we were on the other side. It’s very quiet. People are just taking a lot of pictures. Just taking in the moment.”
She said tourists are mixing with locals as they take in the scene. “It’s incredible, the spirit of Parisians and... the love for their architecture... it’s very heartwarming to see.
“They want to go on as normal but you always have in the back of your mind, this just happened. It’s still so fresh.”
With so much else to see, Foley plans to still make the most of her trip. But it's the special cathedral, steeped in history, that will stick with her, even in its current condition. “Just embrace everything that you see because it could be gone like that and that almost happened here.”