Big Beautiful World 25 -- Inside Notre Dame, Paris, Part 2

It’s a big, beautiful world out there. Let’s stop trying to screw it up. As I have already mentioned, I was moved to tears when I walked through the front door of Notre Dame and feasted my eyes on the grandeur of the cathedral. It still...holy pockets. It is immense. It is solemn. It is grand. And despite its towering rigidity, it's got a surprising amount of swirly curlicues. Are these frilly gates actual gold-gold? This is Notre Dame, so I'm going to say...probably. Or at least, actual gold leaf over skillfully crafted wrought iron and not a hearty coating of metallic gold Rust-Oleum on an aluminum composite. And those beautiful arches framing the doors and windows with the painstakingly assembled stained glass...how long do you think they took to build? In the 13th century? (The mood lighting in the windows, however, is pure 21st-century sensibilities.) I am staggered by the thought.