Monet at Giverny

We headed off by train to Giverny, 78 km NW of Paris to visit the house and gardens of Claude Monet. The trip was pleasant as we passed along the banks of the Seine. The local bus from Vernon was packed as it is a popular place to visit. It is also a favourite site for school excursions for primary students.

Monet's house enabled us to see the studio where he painted and furnished rooms and reproductions of many of his works. It also contained an extensive collection of Japanese woodblock prints. These had a significant influence on many of the Impressionists.

It is the gardens that people come to see _ especially the waterlily pond and the Japanese bridges. Visiting in spring meant that we saw the flowers in full bloom and the wisteria covering the bridge. We saw only a solitary waterlily flower however!

In the afternoon we returned to Paris and visited Musee de L'Orangerie. Our first galleries were Monet's waterlilies. There are about 10 paintings up to 13 metres x 2.5 metres. Now we understand why the studio at Giverny was so large.

The gallery specialises in Impressionist works and we saw an extensive collection by many of the great painters as well as some of the lesser known artists.