Le Stryge

Say hello to the spitting gargoyle of Notre Dame, Le Stryge. I took this picture of him in 1998, which was the second time I visited Notre Dame. (The first time was in 1967, when I was 15 and on a study tour sponsored by my high school.)

This time I went as a board member of the Society for Technical Communication. After the board meeting, a few of us went to visit Notre Dame. We actually climbed up the stairs to the roof - all 397 of them! We stopped at the first level and almost stayed there. We dithered a bit about whether to continue to the top, when one of our group said, "How many chances will you have to do this?" That's all it took. Up we went on the narrow stone spiral staircase to the balustrade and gallery.

The view of Paris was amazing and the grotesques and gargoyles were fascinating, guarding the House of God. I like Le Stryge best of all, holding his head in his hands. He was sculpted in the 19th century during a restoration of the cathedral.

The fire damaged him, but he is being restored, according to The Friends of Notre Dame de Paris website. I'm glad Le Stryge will continue to cast his melancholy gaze over Paris.