Monet’s Garden
The highlight for June 6th, and one of the ‘must sees’ for our cruise, was the visit to Monet’s house and garden at Giverny. Excitement was palpable as our group walked through the tunnel, the only way to get from parking areas to the other side of the road, where we began our tour.
On previous visits as soon as I entered the garden I was impressed by the carefully tended rows upon rows of spring annuals in every shade of pink, mauve, blue and yellow; the masses of roses climbing up and over large metal archways, covering walls, and filling several acres with their shapes, colours and perfume. Then, the garden was tended by volunteers.
On this occasion paid staff failed to keep up with the maintenance; weeds, up to sixty centimetres high, flourished amongst unkempt beds of annuals and the roses, many of them wilting, were in need of a few tons of TLC. To those who were visiting for the first time, and the non-gardeners, it still appeared a riot of texture and colour, but lacked the WOW quality that we expected.
The temperature rose as the afternoon progressed so my sister and I were grateful for our hats, sunscreen and water bottles .
We must have looked like a couple of gypsies, adding more and more belongings to the items tethered to our waists—jumpers, cameras, water bottles, as well as the small travel pack that carried passport, money, phone, and other valuables. Glamour, if it was ever included, was totally discarded as gratitude for hiking boots and comfortable clothing increased.
Then we reached the oft painted section and gasped in delight. On such a perfect day—clear blue sky, sunshine, temperature about 28C, the area was crowded. With the famous water lilies and masses of colour at every turn, our pace slowed.
It was difficult to capture a scene or a photo of each other without at least one stranger accidentally getting in the way, but everyone was in a happy mood, and despite the congestion, we all took turns to move or wait, so that everyone could capture the magnificence of this part of the garden. Having seen Monet’s paintings of the same scenes only two days before, made the experience even more enjoyable.
The house, with its green shutters, looked just as it did when the artist painted it. We were allowed inside, numbers restricted, and photos forbidden, to wander through bedrooms, gaze out onto the garden views that Monet and his household would have enjoyed, and finish in the famous yellow kitchen, my favourite room in the house.
Weary, but very satisfied, we followed our guide back to the bus, heads nodding as we headed for our ship. I think Sue and I had at least a thousand photos between us to sort through that evening. Often, our cameras were pointed in the same direction, but rarely are the results the same.