Parlez-vous Français?: Giverny

    This morning we went with my Aunt to see Claude Monet's House and Gardens in a little town called Giverny (pronounced je-ver-nee, ish). Ostensibly it's not very far from here, but when there are no road signs and you're driving around on unfamiliar back French roads, a trip can turn into a slight adventure. Fortunately we were directed on our way by a number of helpful locals, who all sympathized with the fact that there are no signs and the town councils hadn't done much to fix that.
     Anyway, we made it (and I actually enjoyed the ride... it's not like I knew where I was going anyway and we got to see lots of pretty countryside, and we were never really THAT lost!), along with throngs of other tourists. It was quite impressive, actually, how many people were able to flood that little town, house and yard.
     The gardens were beautiful, and it's easy to see Monet's inspiration. The rainy summer this year meant that all sorts of flowers were still in full bloom, and everywhere you looked was filled with varying shades of green and bright spots of color. The water garden was particularly nice; the water lilies were all blooming, and there were fish holding themselves still in the current. It would be a wonderful place to sit in the early morning or late afternoon... before or after all the people left. For that reason I think it'd be great to be a gardener there.
     The house was pretty interesting, too... All of the rooms were filled with Japanese paintings. Monet apparently had an affinity for the style, even though it never came out in his own works. It was also neat to stand in his studio and see a photo of it from when he worked there - it was a particularly good reminder that it used to be his place, before all the people filled it. I think that if I were a painter of any talent, I wouldn't mind hiding myself out in the french countryside, surrounding myself with flowers and my work. It seems nice.