Living the Dream in Giverny

Nov 21
20:05

2010

Adrian Fisher

Adrian Fisher

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Last year, my daughter Sarah made one of my long term dreams come true when she took me to a very special garden in France... My walls at home are covered in paintings by a French artist whose name is synonymous with Impressionism—Claude Monet. So last year when Sarah presented me with tickets to France for my birthday, I knew she had planned a trip to Giverny, Monet’s home and the inspiration for so many of his famous works.

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Last year,Living the Dream in Giverny Articles my daughter Sarah made one of my long term dreams come true when she took me to a very special garden in France... My walls at home are covered in paintings by a French artist whose name is synonymous with Impressionism—Claude Monet. So last year when Sarah presented me with tickets to France for my birthday, I knew she had planned a trip to Giverny, Monet’s home and the inspiration for so many of his famous works. We landed in France on Thursday night and checked into the Hotel Orly. This was our base for the weekend, and just outside of Paris—it turned out to be great value. The next morning we headed west towards the little town of Vernon. Monet moved to Giverny in 1883 and devoted the rest of his life to tending the gardens and capturing them on canvas. I have wanted to visit Monet’s home and the surrounding grounds ever since I first saw the famous series of Water Lilies paintings, depicting the flower gardens at Giverny. Monet managed to capture serenity and the essence of tranquillity in this series and Sarah knew how much I wanted to see the gardens, ponds and water lilies in real life.We arrived in Vernon around noon and saw immediately that it is still a Mecca for artists. I was amazed by how many painters had come to pay homage to Claude Monet. As we walked through the gates into Giverny, I was immediately enchanted. The tailored flower beds just outside of the main house are impressive enough but the walled gardens beyond took my breath away. Sarah took a picture of me crossing the Japanese bridge—the very bridge that features in so many of Monet’s paintings—and I felt as though I were in a dream.As we drove back in the evening, passing by the Orly hotels, shops and restaurants, I promised myself I would come back to this beautiful part of France that so inspired my favourite artist.