SAN ANTONIO - As the world continues to react to the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, people here at home in Texas are also watching. You might not realize it, but you can find French influence and people all over the region.
- Notre Dame Cathedral heavily damaged in fire Monday
- Much French influence in San Antonio
- Expert says restoration effort will be lengthy
"I've been in San Antonio now for seven years," said La Boulangerie bakery and restaurant owner Sylvain Nykiel.
Nykiel and his wife own a restaurant in downtown San Antonio. As he catches up on morning baking, he has a lot of his mind.
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"It's a piece of art you know. Your origin - whether you're Catholic, or Jewish, or Muslin, or black, white, whatever people - it's a piece of humanity," Nykiel said.
For 32 years he called Paris home. The fire is heartbreaking, but the response that followed gives him hope.
"The firemen did an amazing job. Everybody was afraid but we had these 400 people fight against the fire. They did the best they could and that's unbelievable," said Nykiel.
"It's great that they were able to get a lot of things out, and that's testament to the fact that they must have had a really good disaster plan," said William Dupont, an architecture professor at University of Texas at San Antonio.
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Dupont's recent work took him to Cuba to help preserve Ernest Hemingway's home and the historic missions in the Alamo City.
"The restoration and recovery effort is going to be a long one. It's going to have to start with an assessment of the damage that exists right now. I really hope they can put it back together in a way that's going to be appropriate and meaningful for all of humanity," Dupont said.
It's the same hope in rebuilding that helps people like Nykiel keep their heads up while their hands stay busy.
"Last night all the French were together you know and all the politicians talked in the same voice. It was really nice. You got fights, you've got war, you've got everything, but you've got this piece of humanity burned and that means even if we've got trouble somewhere, we can fix it," Nykiel said.