As you all know by now, the world has just lost an iconic, worldwide known, priceless monument, Notre-Dame de Paris. The cathedral is not only a religious symbol around the world, but it’s also one of the most popular monuments in Paris: it attracts about 13 million visitors each year. Notre-Dame de Paris took 200 years to build, and stood in downtown Paris for longer than 850 years. Some of the wood utilized for the roof dates back to the eighth and ninth century, making it older than 1000 years old. That roof doesn’t exist anymore. Centuries of history literally went up in flames last night.

The fire truly touched me. No words can describe my feelings right now, I truly am heartbroken and devastated to see such a piece of history being completely destroyed. I’m in shock, and can’t believe that no one will be able to see that spire anymore, or those glass windows dating back to the 1200s.

In light of the events from yesterday, I thought I’d jump on the blog to say a few things that I’ve been reflecting non-stop upon since learning of the devastating fire.

When I started this blog, I had one main goal, that of inspiring people to go travel. Of course, like any other blogger, I wanted to get lots of views, receive products to review, eventually get paid for content and get free stays, which are all things that I’ve accomplished overtime. However, my one goal, since the very beginning, was to inspire, to let people know that traveling is easy, fun, rewarding, and overall worth it. It doesn’t have to be expensive, it doesn’t have to be exotic: all it really takes is packing up your bag and get ready to go explore.

I’ve always had that mindset, and at sixteen years old, right before moving to the US, I left on my first solo trip, joined a friend who lived right outside of Paris and on one cloudy morning, we took a trip to the city, where I had the chance to see this stunning landmark. However, that is not the case for many of my friends with whom I spoke to today. Many of them regret not visiting it sooner, not taking that time off to visit France. They just realized that even when they rebuild it, even if they were to visit it in a few years, it will never be the same. What’s lost is lost, all we have are the memories.

Now, if you’ll take one thing out of this blog post, let it be this. Travel often, don’t take things for granted. There are plenty of places to explore and tons of things to see around the world. Nothing lasts forever, not even a church that survived the French revolution, two World Wars, several plagues and the test of time. We don’t last forever, either. So take that chance. Book that ticket. Apply for that study abroad program. Pack up and go.

And now, to Paris, La Ville Lumière. I always thought I’d end up living there. I grew up spending my summers in France, I speak the language and love the culture. However, we all know that somehow Chicago stole my heart (even though I could do without the April snowstorms). Either way, I’ve always felt a strong connection to the city, and know that it will rise up once again, like it has done before after the many horrific events that have touched her in the past few years.

Paris sera toujours Paris, Paris will always be Paris. Even as we rebuild Notre-Dame back together piece by piece. After all, it’s Holy Week, and that cross on the altar, absolutely intact and untouched by the fire, gives us hope.

P.S. This is my favorite picture I’ve ever taken. It’s Robert Doisneau-inspired and I took it on that trip to Paris. To me, it truly embodies the classic, elegant and romantic spirit of Paris. I seriously love this city and know it will rise again and come back stronger than it ever was. I can’t wait to go back and pay homage to Notre-Dame.