Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Lots of people want
to know about the re-grand
opening of Notre Dame.
So that is the way you say it.
Let's start with the basics.
Notre Dame I'm not going to sayit that way every time I say it
during this show, because thatmight get a little obnoxious.
Please don't say Notre Damewhen you're visiting Paris.
Notre Dame, do your best.
(00:22):
Notre Dame, our Lady.
Of course, the infamous, iconicParisian cathedral.
Hello lovelies, welcome toParis with Angela, the podcast
(00:46):
for Paris lovers and tripplanners.
Au revoir and getting ready toclose down the garden.
And, of course, I have anothertrip to Paris in just about four
weeks.
(01:06):
So if you're brand new to thispodcast, my name is Angela.
I've been on social media forthe last almost 20 years as
Parisian Farm Girl.
Parisienne Farm Girl.
You can follow the blog.
You can follow that YouTubechannel.
Twice a year I lead tours inParis and I help people plan
their trips to Paris as well.
(01:27):
I'm really excited about thistrip In four weeks.
I have many YouTube viewerscoming with me.
And if you're brand new, let mejust unpack a little bit what
we do.
Because of my Parisian Farm Girlplatform, a lot of what I share
is French-inspired living.
We're turning our home into avery French farmhouse-style home
full of a lot of antiques.
(01:48):
So my trips currently are fleamarket focused.
In 2025, we've added an extraday to the trip and we will be
experiencing a private cookingclass at a cooking school, a
wine cave tour, wine tasting and, of course, we always visit
three flea markets throughoutthe week because I love to help
my guests barter and find thosespecial treasures to take home
(02:11):
with them.
We visit Giverny.
We do little side trips toVersailles and other places and
we have an excellent time.
Those trips for 2025 are halfsold out, so I take eight people
for two weeks in a row.
So there are three spots lefton the cooking copper and cuvee
trip and that's one that will bean extra day where we will do
(02:32):
that cooking class and the winecave tour, etc.
And there are five spots leftfor the regular flea market trip
.
So I would love for you tovisit parisianfarmgirlcom
forward slash Paris with Angelaand check those trips out if
you'd like to grab a girlfriendor a sister and join us.
We're going to have a greattime and it's pretty excited
(02:54):
that they're almost sold out.
We will probably do anothertrip in October, but that one
won't get planned until theApril one sells out, so there's
eight spots left in total.
I would love to meet you andhave you join me Now.
When we're in Paris, we aregoing to be, of course, enjoying
beautiful wines, and one of thesponsors of this podcast is Dry
(03:17):
Farm Wines.
You can experience Dry FarmWines.
Today.
Biodynamic wines are becomingreally popular around Paris.
There's a few biodynamic winebars that have popped up.
Dry Farm Wines is an organicand biodynamic wine importer
that brings you wine from smallfamily farms and chateaux all
across France.
There's no added sugar, no GMOyeast, no food coloring.
(03:40):
Beautiful wines made in theold-fashioned way.
You can try Dry Farm Wines andwhen you're a first-time
customer, you're going to get anextra bottle for a penny so you
can subscribe and have themshipped to your home every month
or just place a one-time order.
Get that bottle for a penny.
They can't say it's a freebottle, because they're not
(04:00):
allowed to do that.
They charge you a penny for thebottle.
Check out dryfarmwinescomforward slash Paris with Angela.
I thank you for doing that.
They're a major sponsor of theParis with Angela podcast.
Today I'm going to answer somequestions that I have been
receiving mostly via DMs over onInstagram, where you can follow
(04:20):
at Parisian Farm Girl.
Lots of people want to knowabout the re-grand opening of
Notre Dame, so that is the wayyou say it.
Let's start with the basics.
Notre Dame I'm not going to sayit that way every time I say it
during the show, because thatmight get a little obnoxious.
Please don't say Notre Damewhen you're visiting Paris.
(04:42):
Notre Dame, do your best.
Notre Dame, our Lady, of course,the infamous, iconic Parisian
cathedral.
This cathedral is a symbol ofParis, french culture and global
history.
It has a huge significance as areligious landmark and it has
(05:03):
stood the test of time, evenwith its tragedies, for over the
last 850 years.
If you were like me and youtuned in to watch the
catastrophic fire in 2019, yougrieved with many people in the
world.
I remember standing therewatching the flames engulf this
beautiful cathedral and justsaying to the screen do
(05:26):
something, do something.
It just felt like nothing washappening and I sure didn't want
to see it crumble.
There's so many emotionsattached to that day.
If you'd like to know moreabout that day and this
beautiful cathedral, then I'dlove to make a book
recommendation for you.
There's a book by Ken Follettcalled Notre Dame a short
history of the meaning ofcathedrals.
(05:48):
It is an excellent resource,especially if you are preparing
a trip to Paris in December of2024 for the grand reopening.
Notre Dame's construction beganin 1163, under the reign of King
Louis VII, and was completed in1345.
It took 200 years to build andit became one of the finest
(06:12):
examples of French Gothicarchitecture we all know.
We are all probably familiarwith those iconic architectural
pieces and features like flyingbuttresses, the ribbed vaults
and the three stunning rosewindows, which were
technological masterpieces atthe time.
Not only were these elementsbeautiful and magnificent, but
(06:36):
they are a key part of thestructural integrity and
ethereal beauty of the cathedral.
We know, it's been said, thecathedral houses famous relics
like an original piece of theCrown of Thorns and the True
Cross, and it has drawn pilgrimsthere for that reason for
centuries.
Notre Dame has been the stagefor many historical events over
(06:56):
the years, many, many, of course, including the coronation of
Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte in1804, the beatification of Joan
of Arc in 1909, and, of course,when its bells tolled in the
celebration of the liberation ofParis in 1944.
At the close of World War II,the cathedral's near destruction
(07:20):
during the French Revolutionsparked Victor Hugo's novel the
Hunchback of Notre Dame, and ithelped spark a renewal in the
interest in preserving thecathedral.
So this idea of preserving thisamazing site is not new.
It dates clear back to VictorHugo and he really launched this
(07:41):
effort to save this beautiful,beautiful church and monument,
and that led to significantrestoration in the 19th century.
Notre Dame has had a hugecultural impact in art,
literature, as I just referenced, and popular culture.
You've seen it in movies,you've seen it in book covers,
you've seen it in Disneycartoons.
(08:01):
This iconic building hascaptured the imagination of
artists and writers worldwide.
Notre Dame plays a criticalrole as a cultural ambassador of
Paris to millions of visitorseach year.
Even with it being closed,everyone's still gathered around
it to see what's going on, andit is a UNESCO World Heritage
(08:23):
Site.
We all remember that day, april15th 2019, while the world
watched in horror as Notre Damewas engulfed in flames.
The fire spread rapidly, whichled to the collapse of the 19th
(08:46):
century spire and thedestruction of much of the
cathedral's roof.
The cause of the fire is stillunder investigation, with
possible links to electricalshort circuits or human error.
There was an outpouring ofgrief and solidarity at that
time from the world.
As the world looked on andwatched what was happening, it
(09:07):
became even more obvious thatthis beautiful church has a deep
spiritual, cultural andemotional significance for
people worldwide.
There was a heroic effort byfirefighters who managed to save
the main structure miraculously, including the two twin towers
and the rose window, fromcomplete destruction.
(09:27):
The importance of preservingmany of the relics and artworks
housed in the cathedral cannotbe underestimated.
There is such an importance onpreserving those relics and
artwork for France.
This is Notre Dame, our Lady.
There was a dramatic rescue ofthe Crown of Thorns and other
religious artifacts by emergencyresponders Really, really just
(09:51):
incredible.
And the response to whathappened was global.
It was worldwide fromfundraising campaigns to
international experts offeringhelp in the restoration efforts.
And if you choose to read thatbook by Ken Fullett, you will
see that he was immediatelyreached out to because of his
knowledge of how the cathedralswere built at that time and he
(10:14):
really, really gives you somegreat insight into the structure
and what was actually happeninginside.
It's really really an excellentbook.
I would definitely add that toyour list as you're planning
your trip to Paris.
There were multiple donationscoming in over the last many
years from French billionairesand other significant
(10:34):
contributors, one of the reasonswe all get to celebrate this
December when it reopens.
Of course, undertaking therestoration of this monument was
a huge, huge effort.
There was a comprehensiverestoration that began
immediately after the fire tofocus on stabilizing the
structure and preventing furtherdamage.
(10:56):
There were many uniquechallenges that the restoration
teams faced, includingreplicating medieval
construction techniques whileincorporating modern technology.
For example, detailed work wentinto recreating the spire,
which was originally designed byInternational.
(11:19):
Collaborations betweenarchitects, artists, historians
have taken place in an effort tobring Notre Dame back to its
grandeur.
They've sourced materials, suchas the oak for the roof beams,
for example, and that led to thespire, and they were sourced to
ensure historical accuracyaccuracy.
(11:47):
So so much detailed work hasgone in to bringing Our Lady
back to being a site that we canall visit and worship in and
enjoy.
Modern technology has played acrucial role in this restoration
3D scans of the cathedral,taken years before the fire,
have provided invaluableblueprints for the
reconstruction.
And we have, of course, thingsthat we didn't have the use of
drones and the advances inscaffolding systems that have
(12:09):
allowed workers to safelynavigate this detailed
construction.
So these technological advances.
These advantages that we havetoday, as opposed to hundreds of
years ago, have really allowedto speed up the process in the
restoration project.
Now, like me, if you arevisiting Paris this year before
the cathedral opens, you canstill find your own ways to
(12:33):
enjoy it.
For the best views of NotreDame, you can visit the Pont de
l'Archivaché or the Square JeanXII, and I will link and list
these names in the show notes soyou can easily access them and
look them up on your Maps ofParis.
Type them into your Maps appwhen you're there.
It'll take you right there.
I would also suggest visitingthe Ile de la Cité, which is a
(12:58):
small island on which Notre Damesits.
You can soak in the atmosphere.
It's a very, very pleasantatmosphere over in that area.
Have dinner at the Saint-Regis,which is right nearby that's
one of my favorite restaurantsand enjoy the beautiful Seine
views.
I would also recommend that youenjoy a virtual reality tour of
(13:19):
Notre Dame, which is availablefor you before the tour opens.
You can marvel at thefascinating cathedral from a
unique perspective.
You can witness an innovativevirtual reality show right in
the heart of Paris, discover thecenturies-old history even more
of what we're covering today ofthis world-famous landmark and
(13:40):
it's absolutely mesmerizing therealistic 3D creation of
recreation of the originalbuilding and it really allows
you to take advantage ofexperiencing it, if you can
experience it.
Not all of us are going to gonext year, in 2025, and not all
of us are going to make it therein December for the grand
(14:00):
reopening.
I know many of you have tripsplanned for the fall.
Fall is an ideal time to visitParis and it is disappointing
that it won't be done, but thereare definitely ways that you
can experience the cathedral andstill enjoy its beauty.
I will put links in this videodescription and in the show
notes of how to get tickets tothat virtual reality experience.
(14:21):
You can also enjoy thecathedral by visiting nearby
museums, such as the CrypteArchéologique de l'Île de la
Cité, which features exhibitionson Notre Dame's history and the
ongoing restoration projects,and there may be public events
or gatherings held near thecathedral when you're visiting,
such as open-air masses orcultural performances that allow
(14:44):
you to connect with Notre Dameeven while it's under
construction.
During the restoration process,masses for a cathedral were
held in the cathedral.