Monday, May 21, 2012

Giverny - Monet's Garden

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Giverny is about an hour and a half bus ride north west of Paris.  The day we went was mostly a dark, cloudy, and rainy day.  The rain, however,  in no way affected the beauty of the gardens and the famous lily pond.  As I mentioned in a previous post, when I got to that lily pond, I could not take my eyes off the reflections....so influenced was I by seeing Monet's large paintings of the many moods and colors of that same pond.

Some of my photos of the pond look blurry...but that is because it was raining and hailing and blowing.....and cold.  I loved the way the rain made the reflections in the pond seem so much like impressionist paintings.  I was soaked through....my clothes were wet, my hair was wet...my hands were freezing....and I was ecstatically happy.....  The sun did come out a few times, which was good for the flowers in the garden, because they were getting beaten down by the rain and hail.

I took far too many photos to post them all....so I hope you enjoy these.........

This is the house where Monet lived with his second wife and their children.  As you can see, the sun was out at last.  The flower garden is in front of this house and his studio (a very large, open, light room), which is now the gift shop, is off to one side.  The pond is across the road.

These pictures are taken from the upstairs window of the house........



The next few photos show what you walk by, on the way to the pond.






                                    More of the garden in front of the house.

                   I love the wild disarray of the flowers in this picture.


















        The camera lens is all fogged up....  I love the effect.....

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