After meeting my mom and dropping Eric off at Charles de Gaulle International airport (which, from the entryway and complete lack of clear signage is now tied with LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal as second worst airport in the world) we headed to Giverny. It rained on and off most of the way, and we had a few wrong turns, but we finally made it to the home village of Claude Monet! The founder of the Impressionist movement, his home and gardens have been kept up so people can visit and wander around the inspiration for so many of his paintings.
The gardens were in full bloom when we arrived, and thankfully the rain stopped right as we pulled into town. We had a wander around his home site and the gardens there, and then went and visited the pond where he painted water lilies. There were scads of tourists, and at times, it felt if we were in a tide of people with cameras, all of us snapping away as we floated past a myriad of flowers and shrubs. Still, it was beautiful, and knowing that Claude Monet had stood there and walked here and painted all of the canvases I’ve loved through the years was meaningful.
And we had a boss hotel room at this great bed and breakfast, with a balcony which overlooked the yard, and doves cooing and birds chirping. And tourists, lots of lost tourists stopped below our window. The food was good, the garden was nice, and the weather cleared up for us to enjoy ourselves. If Eric had been there, it would have been perfect.