A few months ago I visited Paris for the first time, and the first thing I did was to pay for a tour in Giverny, where Claude Monet lived and brought his dazzling, scintillating paintings to life.
I first arrived at the train station, where I bought some snacks and water for the journey. After a little over an hour, we arrived at Vernon, where we would grab a bike and continue our journey to Giverny.
Getting our bikes.
Although really small, Vernon is quite picturesque and beautiful. I separated from the group and explored town, catching some pretty nice views.
Collégiale Notre-Dame de Vernon.
Vernon.
Fleurs in Vernon.
We made our way through Vernon, and after exploring around and getting some food, we left town and found a perfect spot for a picnic.
Riding with a GoPro like a pro.
Our picnic spot.
Made some pretty cool friends, including their mom.
Finally, we reached Giverny. As soon as we entered the little streets, with charming old houses and flowers everywhere, I felt like in a dream or in another world. But that was nothing compared to when we got to Monet’s house.
Aside from being a painter, Monet really enjoyed creating beautiful gardens. He purchased hundreds of seeds, he had his own pond, and even got in trouble for taking possession of land that wasn’t his. This man spent hours looking at his gardens, and immortalizing them on canvas.
It’s amazing seeing his paintings and then actually being there, not only because of the beautiful scenes and landscapes, but because that’s where Monet stood, that’s where he painted, that’s where he lived! I’ll just let you see for yourself. No pictures are allowed inside the house, but the walls were mainly pastels–yellow, pink, and blue –and the decoration, frames and paintings were wonderful.
I started off with the gardens.
One of the bridges.
Amazing scene.
Flowers.
Water lilies.
Then I made my way to his house.
Picturesque little house.
GoPro time.
After the tour, I bought a musicbox and a bookmark. We visited Monet’s family grave before we headed for some tea, and then back to Paris.
Monet’s first wife, Camille Doncieux, died at 32 from uterine cancer. He eventually married Alice Hoschedé, and lived until 86. He died of lung cancer.
Giverny.
Monet’s grave.
MONET I’VE SEEN LIVE
Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
Musée Marmottan, Paris.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, LA.
Museum of Modern Art, New York.
New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans.
Helsy Flores 