Giverny: Impression and Inspiration

Our first stop, after arriving at the airport and renting a car early Friday morning, was the lovely little hill village of Giverny.

Giverny was the home, and place of inspiration, for Claude Monet - one of my favorite artists.  We were in for a treat!

The village of Giverny was absolutely charming!  Everything was beautiful, and just as I pictured a small French town should be.  Winding roads, stone buildings, clinging ivy, and metal signs hanging above the narrow streets.

Take a peek! 

The highlight of the town is the famed gardens of Monet, so there are a few garden-inspired shops that were absolutely lovely, and smelled as good as they looked!  I think I am going to like shopping in France!

The Gardens of Monet.  What can I say?  They were absolutely GORGEOUS!  The colors were truly stunning, and the variety was endless.

Monet's gardens were not formal - just flowers and more flowers informally jammed together, yet the colors harmonized together perfectly.

The gardens were absolutely peaceful and romantic.  It was easy to see how Monet could find so much inspiration in such a place.  Anyone could be inspired in such a place!

I think what I like best was that everything LOOKED like Monet.  Everywhere you looked looked like a Monet painting - you could almost see the brushstrokes!  Indeed, we kept recognizing the setting of many of his famous paintings - and that was simply exciting!!!

Every path was inviting, and every flower beckoned to be admired and sniffed!

One path led to Monet's famed water lily pond.  

It was like walking into an impressionist masterpiece!

It was so still and peaceful!

I was so inspired to walk where Monet walked and see what he saw, and the artist in me was screaming to create in such a place...

so I pulled out my paints and did a quick painting of one of his famous bridges.  Of course, I didn't do quite as good a job as he did... but I was in a hurry.

Painting in Monet's water lilly garden - what could be better?

We also got to visit Monet's warm and comfy home, see the studio where he painted, filled with huge windows overlooking his garden, and saw photos of him and his family.  What an enchanted life he must have had!  His beautiful, joyful paintings tell me he must have had a happy life.  This place was truly joyful!

Still, as beautiful as Monet's paintings are, I look at this flower and am keenly aware who the real master artist is!  Can anything ever be as lovely as a flower?

Giverny was magical!  What a perfect way to start our trip!