Monet's Garden at Giverny

A perfect garden, a perfect day.

The Water Lily Pond at Les Jardins de Claude Monet at Giverny

I have always wanted to visit the incredible gardens of Claude Monet at Giverny. And this time, with my garden-loving mother around, it seemed like the perfect opportunity! Especially since my brother-in-law kindly took leave to drive us there.  So off we went in our little rental car to Giverny.

Monet established his family at Giverny in 1883 when he was 43 years old.  It was not a conventional family.  His first wife had died some time after the birth of her second child, following which Monet became "romantically involved" with the wife of a friend.  She and her children, stayed with Monet and his children at Giverny.  Monet was already an established painter, and his home and gardens in Giverny provided the inspiration for some of his most famous and spectacular works.  More on Monet's life story is here.

Monet found inspiration in the Japanese aesthetic for his art, and I like to think that he was also inspired by the beautiful Japanese gardens for his Water Garden too.  We walked down a little pathway to emerge at the water lily pond.  The pond was like a mirror, reflecting the sky, the trees and plants surrounding it.  As we strolled around the pond, different aspects of the pond appeared - the willow, draping its branches over the bridge; the boat (and boatman) going across it; the multi-coloured flowering plants.  On the pond, the lily pads floated, and reeds peeked above the surface.  It was as though I had walked into a Monet painting.  Indeed, this was what Monet wanted to do when he created his huge images of his garden for the Orangerie museum (his gift to France, which I had visited on a previous trip), to create an entire world in itself, without horizon, of water, lilies and light.

We went next to the formal gardens beside his house.  It was full of beautiful spring flowers, a blend of colour and light - again, just like a painting!  I learnt however that they plant with the season in mind, so that the gardens are flowering all the time.

The formal gardens

Monet's first studio

From the gardens, we entered Monet's house.  The first room we went in contained Monet's collection of Japanese Ukiyo-e (woodcut) prints, including those by great masters such as Hokusai. But the highlight was visiting his first studio, a large room overlooking the garden, with big windows all along the side.  The walls were covered by his paintings (replaced since by reproductions) so visitors could admire his genius.  Monet subsequently moved into another studio and it would appear that this became the family living room.

Going upstairs, into the bedrooms, gave an even better view of the grounds and there were even more paintings.  In his bedroom - paintings by other Impressionists, including Renoir.  There was another bedroom, I believe the one used by his stepdaughter who was living in the house after his death.

The front entrance and the house

Going downstairs again, we saw the dining room and the most enviable kitchen, with its tiled walls, copper pots and gigantic kitchen table.

In short, this was truly a comfortable and welcoming family home for Monet and his family.

With this visit, as well as my earlier trip to Rouen, to see its famed cathedral, I have really had the oppportunity to see for myself how the artist reperceives his subjects - whether it is the lily pond, or the formal garden, or the ancient cathedral - and transforms it into a masterpiece.  What a privilege!

But this was not the end of our day.  My sister wanted to do a little more sightseeing before returning to Paris so we went next to the little town of "Le Petit Anderlys".

It's a charming little village, with its half timbered houses, ancient church and fortress on a hill,  Chateau Galliard built originally by Richard the Lionheart of England.

Half timbered houses, Le Petit Anderlys

 Indeed, visiting this little town reminds me just how much history this corner of France holds.  It was from Normandy, of course, that William the Conqueror hailed from.  His descendants linked Normandy and England for so many years, and it was here that so many battles between the French and the English were fought (and thereafter, the battles of WWI and II).

There is so much more to learn and see.  One day I must really do a proper visit to Normandy!

Many more photos here.

A Pilgrimage to Nevers

St Bernadette's shrine, in the convent chapel
(no photos of the saint are allowed)

You are going to Nevers?  Pour-quoi?

Apparently that’s what my sister’s colleagues said when she told them that we are going to Nevers.  I suppose that these days, the French are not that religious and so they do not know that St Bernadette's intact body rests in a quiet convent chapel in this small town.

My mother and I had made a pilgrimage to Lourdes previously, where we saw the grotto where the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin appeared to Bernadette, and various places associated with the Saint's life.  (The entire series of posts can be found here).

So this time round, visiting the shrine of St Bernadette was definitely going to be a stop on our mini-pilgrimage.  Bernadette's body rests at the convent of St Gildard, where she first entered as a postulant to join the Sisters of Charity of Nevers. The Sisters had had a small  school in Lourdes, and had taken in Bernadette as a pupil, so when she entered religious life it was a natural choice for her.  The convent of St Gildard was where she spent the rest of her brief life, dying as she sat in a chair in the infirmary.  Today, the convent has become a place of pilgrimage and retreat centre, called Espace Bernadette.  We walked through the quiet grounds, visited the little museum on the life of the saint, and went for mass in the chapel where we also prayed by the body of St Bernadette.  A replica of the grotto at Massabielle is beside the chapel, but it was so hot that we didn't linger there.

Inside the Chapelle of St Joseph

Nevers itself is about two hours from Paris, so we got there around 11am+, just in time for mass (in French).  It was on 25th May (so you know how late this post is), so we celebrated the feast of St Philip Neri.  There was a small group of schoolchildren and they were the special guests sitting next to the altar.  Later on, we saw them exploring the grounds, worksheet in hand, looking for the answers to their assignment.

The convent itself is surrounded by its grounds - gentle meadows and gardens.  There is also the little Chapelle of St Joseph was where St Bernadette was originally laid to rest. She was exhumed for inspection in 1909, 1919 and 1925.  Each time, it was found to be intact even though the skin has darkened over time (it is covered with a wax mask).  There is in fact a detailed write-up about the condition of the body, including the organs (the liver was found to be still soft).  After the last inspection, the body was placed in the shrine in the chapel. And, of course, Bernadette was canonised as a saint!

Our Lady of the Waters

Coming here, it is easy to picture Bernadette walking down the garden paths, going all the way from the big convent building to the shady and peaceful corner where stands Our Lady of the Waters.  It was a favourite spot of Bernadette's as it was this particular image of Our Lady which reminded her of the One she met.  

We also visited the museum, which features some of Bernadette's belongings - the clothes in which she came to the convent, the apothecary scales which she used to weigh medicine (she worked in the infirmary) and the chair she died in.  There are also a few of her writings featured.  

According to the tourist sites such as this one, there are other things to see in Nevers such as the cathedral, a former ducal palace and a ceramic museum.  But we didn't really have time for a visit.  By the time we finished visiting the convent (taking into account our break for lunch after mass) it was late afternoon and we had to catch our train back to Paris.  So we walked through the old town, past a large park full of children practicing their roller-blading, and past the old town walls.  Then we wandered back to the train station and took our two hour train journey back to Paris.

A tiring day but one, according to my Mum, which helped her check off one more thing off her Catholic Bucket List.

More photos here.

The old town wall and cathedral beyond