NOVI, Mich. (WXYZ) — It was a field trip of a lifetime. A dozen Novi High School students taking French visited Paris, Northern France, the Eiffel Tower and the Notre Dame Cathedral just two weeks ago.
Their teacher, Nick La Tarte, says, “Cathedrals are meant to make people feel insignificant, and this one does. It’s an incredible feeling when you get to see it up live. This is always their reaction, 'whoa. It’s big!'”
The field trip to France is taken every other year.
Part of the trip is a history lesson, as students learn the deep history of the cathedral. But on Monday afternoon, the students watched as it burned down on TV.
“If you’ve been to Europe, there are things there that have been around longer than the United States has been around," La Tarte said. "And you always have this feeling that things are going to survive you. And it’s amazing to think we’re not going to see it anymore.”
Notre Dame was built in the 12th Century and if you’re one of the 13 million who visit it each year, the grandeur is what you’re seeking.
“I think it took 200 years to build, which is just incredible to think people’s careers were to help build that and they never saw the end, they never saw the finish,” La Tarte said.
The cathedral was in the middle of a $6 million renovation, which may have been what started the fire.
