Monday, July 08, 2013

Notre-Dame de Paris

One Day In Paris - part 3


First, I wanted to thank you so much for your kind words on the last two "Parisian" posts (you can read them here and there if you missed them). I had such a nice time opening my inbox during the weekend to read your comments!


Tout d'abord, merci pour tous les petits mots que vous m'avez laissé sur les deux articles "parisiens" précédents. C'était un plaisir de lire ces messages ce weekend.


Now, about the pictures, I have a cheap and old camera that won't take two pictures in a row because the battery is too tired, so all are "one take" pictures, much as if I had an old camera with a film.


Maintenant, à propos des photos, la batterie de mon vieil appareil est fatiguée et il m'est donc impossible depuis plusieurs mois de prendre plus d'une photo à la fois... C'est un peu comme travailler avec un appareil à pellicule!


In the previous post, I took you to a tour of l'Île de la Cité. The heart of this island is the famous cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris. My idea was to take pictures of the outside and there was no way that I was going to queue to get inside with that heat! Well, I don't know what YOU did, but just when I was in front of the cathedral a cloud arrived and so I decided to queue, knowing you would love to see pictures of the inside.

The said cloud. Imagine what people thought of me taking a picture of the sky, when I was standing in front of the cathedral!!

My camera couldn't take a good picture of the nave, because flashes were forbidden and the light that was brought by the many chandeliers didn't agree with my tiny camera. So I took that one picture on Wikipedia for you. All others are mine.


La photo ci-dessus est la seule qui ne soit pas la mienne car mon appareil a refusé de prendre une photo correcte de la nef. La lumière ne lui convenait pas et bien sûr, le flash est interdit.


I was fascinated by the chandeliers, though they are not original. The cathedral was not always well-loved, but in the nineteenth century, when it was renovated, these chandeliers were made in the supposed "style" the original chandeliers would have had.


J'ai été fascinée par les chandeliers, même si ce ne sont plus les originaux. Ceux que l'on voit aujourd'hui datent de la rénovation entreprise au XIXème siècle et ils ont été dessinés en utilisant ce qu'on appelait le style "gothique" à cette époque.


A man was restoring one. Sorry about the blurry picture, the light was really awful in that part of the cathedral... since the chandelier was down! He told me before he began working on it, the chandelier's size was the same as the metallic structure you can see!

Un homme rénovait justement un chandelier. Désolée pour la photo floue, mais puisque le chandelier était dans cet état-là, la lumière dans cette partie de la cathédrale était particulièrement mauvaise. Avant qu'il ne le démantèle, le chandelier était aussi grand que la structure métallique que vous voyez.


In the Middle-Age, cathedrals were painted, mostly with primary colours. You can see above an old painted ceiling.


Au Moyen-Age, les cathédrales étaient peintes et si certains plafonds restent à rénover, d'autres, dans les petites chapelles à l'arrière du choeur, le sont déjà et sont magnifiques.


 But some of the chapels behind the choir have been restaured to their original beauty.

I hope you enjoyed touring this gothic wonder. Now, Notre-Dame still has three treats for you:

J'espère que vous avez apprécié ce petit tour dans un bijou gothique. J'ai encore trois petits cadeaux pour vous.

1. My favorite picture. Ma photo préférée.


2. Some of  the famous gargoyles. Quelques célèbres gargouilles. I didn't go up the towers, so I'm sorry I don't have pictures of the chimeras.


3. Now, I couldn't spend a day at Notre-Dame, without thinking about Victor Hugo's novel and one of the ballets that were made after it. So here's a solo danced by a Paris Opera dancer.


Je ne pouvais évidemment pas passer une journée à Notre-Dame sans avoir une pensée pour Victor Hugo et les nombreux ballets que son roman a inspiré. Je crois avoir passé des heures, enfant, à regarder les "Grandes" répéter cette variation!

Et vous, il y a un truc inattendu que vous associez à Notre-Dame?

So, what was your favourite part of the cathedral?

A bientôt,

See you soon,


I'm joining:
     Knick of Time Interiors      
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia             Copy of Oh, the places WEB SIZED                       

29 comments:

  1. Wow! Thank you for the tour! This is one of my must-see places ever and I can't wait to see it for real someday:-)

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed the tour and I hope you can see the cathedral yourself one day.

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  2. I've only been to Notre Dame once...so thank you for bringing me back to see it again.

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    1. You're welcome. It was such a pleasure to open the door of the cathedral for my readers.

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  3. This was one of the highlights of my Paris trip years ago. Lovely photos

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  4. Makes me want to visit even more than ever! Thanks for the photos.

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  5. I never been in Paris. You can not imagine what I've enjoyed these three posts. The picture with the virgin and chandeliers is my favorite. I also liked ballet video Esmeralda . I saw it with my little girl, who take classic ballet classes.

    Have a nice day.

    Cecilia

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  6. Hi
    Thank you for the beautiful tour. I'm pinning the photos on my pinterest board. Hope you don't mind. Looking forward to more photos of Paris and France.
    Betty @ My Cozy Corner

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  7. I love the pictures, even if you don't like your camera! I have such a child-brain...when you talk about Notre Dame, I think of the Disney cartoon, not the book or the ballet! My friend/coworker went to Paris a couple years ago. Now you're making me want to go even more!

    -andi

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  8. The ceiling in there is gorgeous. We were in Paris for a few days a few years back. I hate that we didn't get to see the inside of Notre Dame in person.
    When I was first looking at the photos of the chandeliers they didn't look that big, though I knew they were. But seeing the photo of the man restoring one by the cage puts it in perspective. Nice.

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  9. Lovely!!! I love old buildings....the grandeur and the sheer size. It always amazes me that they were built before modern technology entered the scene. :) Thanks so much for sharing about Paris!

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  10. Some years ago, we went to what was called an 'International service' in Notre Dame on a Sunday. The cathedral was packed. I think we heard one sentence in English! But what a beautiful place just to be.

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  11. When I was in Paris, Notre Dame was covered in scaffolding and draped in black so we didn't get to see it. Thanks for the tour.

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  12. C'est splendide & ça évoque pour moi le premier long métrage que j'ai regardé à notre première télévision qui était toute neuve , à cette époque , il n'y en avait pas beaucoup , il n'y avait qu'une chaine & ma mère nous avait fait du pop corn comme au cinéma car nous avions invité nos amis pour cette première à domicile .
    Quand je pense que maintenant il y a bien plus de chaines que nous ne pouvons en regarder & que les écrans sont super plats .........étonnant non ?
    Bises . Babette

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  13. Oups !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! C'était bien entendu "Notre Dame de Paris" avec Gina Lollbrigida & Anthony Quinn . Quel film .............Bises . Babette

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  14. Quelle est belle, quelle est belle, dans sa robe de dentelle... de pierres... c'était une vieille chanson d'une chanteuse à la mode en... 1968... Mais elle est valable pour Notre Dame ! Et bravo pour les photos !

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  15. When I visited, the blues in the stained glass were magnificent and my favorite. I also like the garden on the side along the Seine.

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  16. Thank you so much, Magali, for sharing your pictures of Notre Dame with us--I loved seeing this beautiful landmark from your perspective! Hope that you are enjoying the summer :)

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  17. toujours aussi splendide cette Cathédrale
    que la France est belle...

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  18. Beautiful pictures! My favorite part of those old cathedrals is the amazing ceilings! They look nearly impossible, and yet they've stood for hundreds of years.

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  19. Oh Magali - absolutely gorgeous photos - no matter what kind of camera you were using -
    I feel the same way about line ups - BUT we once went to Versailles - where there was a million people waiting to get in - and there was no way I was going to wait so I strolled around the gardens - and then like you clouds started coming and I ran to the line up.
    Too late - I was caught in the most torrential rain you can imagine LMHO
    You make me miss Paris.
    Too much...................
    XOXOXO

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  20. Sorry I missed this series on Paris and sorry you had such an awful day !
    I have only been to Paris once, which is a bit shameful considering it's not very far for me, but seeing all your photos makes me want to go again. Love the painted ceilings in the cathedral and can't believe the size of the chandelier's.
    Thanks for the lovely tour !

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  21. What gorgeous pictures...I've never been to France. Yet! :-) I'm always in awe of the architecture in Europe. Wow.

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  22. Beautiful photographs! - I'm so excited to be going to Paris this fall so we are putting together our must-visit list-(last time I was there I was a student with a backpack and train pass) I'll have to check out your previous Parisian posts! Merci!

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  23. Beautiful pictures! Thank you for capturing the charming detail of the ceiling!

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  24. So lovely - all of the architecture is fascinating - love seeing that it is being restored - the beautiful colors and the ceilings are amazing! Sorry to be so late visiting - you just never know what will happen in a day! I am so delighted that you shared with Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

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  25. What a fun tour of the cathedral, you covered all the details.

    I would like to invite you to join us also for Travel Photo Mondays, it runs the whole week starting on Mondays, hope to see you there.

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    1. Thank you so much for inviting me. I'll be there next Monday!

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  26. I am glad to got to go inside after all. The pictures turned out even if you have an old camera.

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