Pic(s) For The Day - Giverny

Bob got home on a Friday. On Saturday morning he woke up and said "I think we have to go to Giverny." We left on Sunday, and even the kids agree that it was worth the 8 hours drive each direction!

For many years Bob and I had a coffee table book called Monet's Table, which we used for both design reference and daydreams. We loved the stories of the family cook, whom everyone was afraid of, and the wonderful rooms, decorated by a man who knew a thing or two about color and light. To walk into Monet's dramatic yellow-on-yellow dining room, to stand in the blue-tiled kitchen with it's copper pots on the walls, with everything looking exactly as we had envisioned it for years, was a moment in time for both of us. 

They won't let you take pictures inside the house, and the from-the-hip shots we tried to get didn't come out, so we can't show you inside. We can show you the Summer Garden, with it's riotous flower beds, and the Winter Garden, with the Japanese bridge covered in wisteria, and the famous lily pond. We were in Paris in February, and saw the gigantic Water Lilies series. It was very cool for the kids to see the real thing. Bob and I even got a shot of the two of us, taken by Owen. Thanks, Owen.

Comments

[Allan K. Rosen]

Bob, Love taking this journey with you and your family. How amazing!! It is hard to pick one, but this is "one" of my favorite places in France. To go to Giverny and see the home and gardens just as they are in the books that I have. How wonderful. I remember eating at a little cafe on my walk from the Train station to his home. You brought back some nice memories for me....... Be well

[Nicole]

Wow! It looks just like the real thing...

I had one of those moments on a bus in China, driving out to the Great Wall from Beijing. The mist and the mountains, just like those fantastic scrolls that look like something from someone's dream.

Mondrian has a painting of a harbor - all ship's masts and tree branches - pluses (+) and minuses (-) to the uninformed eye. Kandinsky pulls some of that on you as well - all those abstractions are hiding mountains and trees and soldiers, all hiding in plain sight.

So where is the art that is imitating YOUR life?
Aloha,
Nicole.

[Darleen]

WOW! That is some massive Wisteria.

[MOM]

Oh, my gosh............the four of you have just compleated a dream I have had for years!!! Giverny must be one of the most beautiful places on earth. To experience all that Monet saw and lived daily would be a dream come true. For a painter, (I have started painting again) it would be something beyond exquisite.
I am so very happy that all of you got to go. I bet Ella had a hard time not picking flowers, the child, like her Nana, loves flowers.
The photos are beautiful. Thanks for letting me experience at least part of it through your eyes.
Much love................Mom/ Nana J.

[Eric H.]

I have that book too! Wow, that trip is going onto my "Bucket List"! Thank you!!