We have visiting cousins in town, one of whom is here for the first time, so we've been treading the tourist route. Yesterday we went to the Musée d'Orsay and I was the one who saw something for the first time. At the back of the main floor is an exhibit about the Palais Garnier, the original Paris opera house (yes, the Phantom's pied a terre), and part of it includes an elaborate model of the part of the city where the Palais Garnier is located. This model is below floor level and covered with heavy transparent material so you can walk across it, peering, godlike, down from the skies. I can now say I've walked all over that quartier.
The Gae Aulenti design for the museum continues to amaze with its brilliance. This time I was struck by how many clocks there had been in this old train station and how wonderfully they had been preserved and incorporated in its new incarnation.
It's time to put my tour guide hat on, lift the little flag, and shepherd my flock. Luckily the weather's been great. Maybe Sainte Chapelle today...or some shopping. Not for me of course.
