Cathédrale Notre-Dame, Bangui, C.A.R. Postcard

The elegant, red-brick Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bangui was built by the French in 1930. While sketching (not a common sight in this country which has been in the midst of a civil war since 2012), the police stopped me and told me in French that it was against the law to sketch. This has happened to me in several countries where there are few tourists, and people doing strange things are simply "breaking the law". I told them I was an architect, and was studying the building, and found it very beautiful -- and then showed them the other sketches in my sketchbook from this trip. Thankfully, this won them over and they allowed me to continue. After dealing with the police, a curious young local boy came up to me and chatted with me, watching me sketch until I was done. :)