Meg in Europe

Notre Dame is currently in that awkward but impressive phase where she’s under construction yet still somehow the most beautiful girl in Paris.

We toured it with Emily of Notre Dame, who I’m fairly certain owns more Notre Dame merch than the actual gift shop. I think she had eight separate pieces on her body at one point which honestly earned my respect immediately. Commitment to the bit. ‘Emily of Notre Dame’ is her insta handle by the way. But she also knew absolutely everything. Every fire, every restoration, every tiny architectural detail hidden in the stonework. We learned about the 2019 fire and the massive reconstruction efforts happening now, which somehow made the cathedral feel even more alive instead of frozen in history.

My favorite part was hearing about the grotesques and carvings based on real people and characters. Medieval architects, characters from the novel, and political figures forever carved into stone on a city beacon. Between the history, the architecture, and Emily quite literally centering her whole life around the building and moving across the world for it convinced me of its importance and beauty.