Giverny

I remember thinking I have never seen anything so green. Before coming to France, I had never heard of Giverny – or maybe I had, in my art history class, but wasn’t paying enough attention to let it sink in. Ironically, my sister and I had gone to Musée d’Orsay earlier that same day, and had seen Monet’s Water Lilies painting. At Giverny, which was Monet’s home and gardens, we saw the inspiration.

The real water lilies that had been the model for his masterpiece. They sat suspended in a lake sparkling with sunlight, with weeping willow trees dipping their ends into the water. A little bridge cut through the lake and every kind of flower I will never know the names of were scattered throughout the gardens.
We also took a tour of his house; a rickety old two-story with green shutters, draped in foliage. The upper rooms had fans to blow the stale, humid air out and the floorboards creaked with age.

All this added to the overall effect of the place, and the gift shop stuck out like a sore thumb. Giverny was truly one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I’d like to think (if I had artistic talent that extended beyond stick figure drawings), that I too would be inspired to create a work of art out of the beauty of those surroundings.