Once in Vernon, we decided to walk to Giverny (verrry small “town,” basically consisting of Monet’s house and a few other houses) In retrospect, taking the shuttle would have been a much better idea. However, several website said the distance was walkable so we decided to tackle it. While the walk was very beautiful, it was an hour and round trip shuttle fair was only 4 euros. But it was nice to be with nature and for it to be fairly quiet, two things that do no exist in Paris. We walked across the Seine. There were irises planted all along the road, which I loved, as irises are one of my favorite flowers. The houses were so picturesque, they almost didn’t seem real. When we finally arrived at Giverny, we had to wait in line. We decided to tour the gardens first. The gardens you first see are the planted gardens behind Monet’s house.
These gardens are very structured. There were lots of paths and tiny walkways. There were a lot of irises. The flowers seemed to be grouped by color. We weaved through this garden and then visited the Japanese garden. This is where Monet created a pond, which is shaped kind of like a kidney bean or a banana, and the streams that feed into it. When you walk into this garden, you are greeted by a solid wall of bamboo. The pond was surreal. It was so beautiful and alive, but at the same time, it was familiar, because it really does look JUST like the paintings. The famous bridge was covered in white and purple wisteria (and tourists.) The surface of the pond was clogged with lily pads. We took so many pictures. We then toured the house. It is a very large house, although only a few rooms are open to the public. It is a very pink color, although ivy almost obscures all of the outside. The inside is just as brightly painted (my mom would not have liked it at all, haha) and interesting combinations of color schemes, like a very lavender and sea foam bedroom. The dining room was lemon yellow. My favorite room was the kitchen, which was almost completely tiled with beautiful blue and white tiles and had shiny cooper pots hanging from the ceiling. The stove took almost a whole wall, and there were huge iris arrangements in almost every room. We wandered around for a bit more (and elected to take the shuttle back to Vernon to catch the train to Paris.)
It was a day very well spent. Unfortunately, the next day, Dana’s passport was stolen en route to the airport, so Thursday and Friday were a little hectic for Danes and Jessie, but I am glad to know that they finally got home safely Saturday! They stayed at the foyer, so if you are anxious for a first hand account of life here at “the convent” before July, talk to them!
No comments:
Post a Comment