France: Charming Giverny

MONET’S GARDENS AND HOUSE

Per the advice of our travel agent, we arrived early at the gardens and were so glad we did.  It was another foggy morning and only about 45 degrees.  Very few people initially, so we could take our time wandering the garden paths. Even when we got to the water lily garden, it wasn’t extremely crowded. 

I had wondered if visiting the gardens in October was crazy, but no.  They were spectacular!  The garden rows are a riot of color, seemingly arranged casually, but not quite so. The colors popped against the grayish white sky.  The Rows and rows of densely planted flowers are somewhat grouped by color and all allowed to grow very tall.  As you walk along, you are both surrounded by greenery and blossoms and dwarfed by their size.  Lots of yellow big daisy-like flowers, dahlias in pinks and purples, plus masses of other purple and lavender flowers.

 The water lily garden is also gorgeous, perhaps even more so than the main garden.  There are Japanese maples with their red leaves, slender stands of bamboo, Monet’s signature green arched bridges, and then the lilies themselves.  It was serene and almost quiet, despite the masses of people with everyone shooting photos of themselves or the views with their iPhones.

Monet’s brick house is also open to the public.  Not surprising, it has green shutters.  Inside you see the blues and yellows and greens that were some of his favorite colors. 

I particularly liked the yellow dining room with yellow table and chairs, a ceramic pot with yellow flowers in it, and a yellow fireplace with green and blue tall vases on top. The kitchen was done in shades of light blue. We also saw Monet’s bedroom and the bed in which he died. Throughout the house, the walls are filled with art. A comfortable place to live indeed!

GIVERNY VILLAGE

What are the colors of Giverny?  The buildings and homes are stone, oatmeal and tan in color, a perfect backdrop for wooden doors and shutters in blue, green, or red and cafe chairs in yellow and blue.  Much of the main area is a pedestrian zone which makes it very pleasant to wander.  

We noted a sign with an arrow to see Monet’s grave so, we headed to Saint Radegonde’s Church, a simple but striking Romanesque church, parts of which date to the 11^th century.  Radegonde lived in the 6^thcentury, was forced to marry a royal, but later left her husband. Devoutly Christian, she helped the poor, cared for the ill, and later founded a monastery. She continued to have influence with the government and was linked to the liberation of Normandy from the English.  

In the 10^th century, she was canonized and even today is an important saint beyond France and Europe and is honored with two feast days.  The interior of the church is small with several impressive stained glass windows.

In the cemetery surrounding the church are not only the graves of Claude Monet and several members of his family, but also that of seven airmen buried together who were shot down nearby in 1944 during the war.

We lunched in the village at the Ancien Hotel Gaudy and enjoyed our repast of salmon rillettes, a Camembert crepe which was bathed in a puddle of melted cheese and accompanied by both greens and French fries for me, and for the Chief Penguin salade landaise of duck confit, lettuce, and mini potatoes.  Plus a basket of toothsome French bread and some vino.

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)