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.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Today, we spent the morning at the flea market, Marché aux Puces de St-Ouen. When we talk about a flea market in this context, we are actually talking about several different buildings, each packed with stalls selling slightly different items. Some sell antiques, but most really sell second-hand stuff, or really new items which are reproductions of the old stuff. These buildings are then surrounded by a lot of little shops selling cheap clothes, leather products, etc on the fringes.

My favourite market was the Marché Jules Vallès. This particular market sold old pieces of furniture, books, what have you. It was like an extended attic full of the flotsam and jetsam of many people’s lives. You could find anything in these markets, from an old keyboard, to clocks, to old porcelain statues missing a hand or a foot, to a kitchen stove and even an old Jaguar (yes, as in the car).


I would find it so difficult to work out what was a potential collectable which just needed a little restoration work, from what was really a piece of junk. For example, there was an old violin, probably three-quarter size. I was reminded of my sister’s old violin, which she used as a child. It was originally in my grandfather’s house and missed its strings, was covered in dirt and (if I’m correct) also missed its neck rest. When we got it cleaned up, it was actually quite a good violin. My sister used it until she grew out of it and got her very own, full-sized violin. But it was her violin teacher who made the call that it was usable, not me.

Actually, the flea market reminded me a little of my grandfather’s garage – which is probably the reason why I liked it so much. It even had the same, dusty smell.

We had a quick lunch and then I went off on my own to the Tuileries Gardens. I got off at the Louvre metro stop, then walked down the length of the gardens to reach the Musée de l’Orangerie. Now the Tuileries Gardens have at either end these large fountains, surrounded by sandy pathways… I realized just how sandy when I saw the sand blow in the wind. So I got off the main paths to walk down a quiet tree-lined avenue where there were fewer people and hence less disturbance of the sand. Nonetheless, my shoes were covered in dust.

Now, I’d bought the 2-day Paris Museum Pass the previous day from FNAC (the French Virgin Megastore counterpart which sells books, DVDs, CDs, electronic equipment etc). The virtue of the Museum Pass is that you don’t need to queue to get in. Or at least, you get your own separate queue. So I waltzed past all these people who presumably had queued for a while and walked to the head of separate queue. So it saves time (it also saves money if you go to enough museums, especially the more pricey ones) which can be better spent looking at exhibits.

The L’Orangerie is famed for the huge paintings of water lilies by Monet, which were a gift from him to the French State. The oval shape of the rooms were determined by him and he then worked his paintings (partially completed at the time the location was decided upon) to fit the space. There are a total of 8 paintings, 4 in each room. They depict water lilies at different times of the day. According to the AV show, Monet loved the subject of water lilies because the combination of the flowers, water, and the sky and clouds reflected in the water was like the combination of the earth, sea and sky – a limitless, boundary-less world, without any fixed focal point so the eye looks everywhere at once. The rooms, two ovals connected to each other, symbolize infinity. I sat in front of each painting, to soak this serene world in.

The L’Orangerie is actually a very manageable museum. Aside from the water lilies, there is a small very select collection of paintings. The original collector was a Paris art dealer, Paul Guillaume, who bought many of the paintings. After his death, his wife continued his collection and then gave them to the state. There are Renoirs, Cezannes and Matisses.

Now the plan was that I would meet my friend at the Picasso Museum in the Marais area later that evening. So I thought I would take a look around the shops and buildings in the Marais area. The word “Marais” means “marsh” and so the buildings in this area were built on reclaimed marshland. Many were built by the rich and wealthy, in particular the beautiful Place de Vosges, famous for its symmetrical layout. Cardinal Richelieu stayed here in 1615. Maison de Victor Hugo (I didn’t go in though) is in one corner. Hugo stayed here for many years and wrote Les Miserables here. Indeed, the Marais is a charming area, with beautiful old houses and buildings. I wandered around these narrow old streets (quite different from other parts of Paris) and made my way to the Musee Picasso.

I thought I would be able to spend some time here. But the Musee Picasso appeared to be undergoing some renovation. There was scaffolding outside (this is why there is no photo) and inside, everything seemed a little less permanent in nature with what appeared to be temporary signs and I could not seem to find the more famous paintings as listed in my guidebook (I forgot to pick up the museum guide, a hazard of getting the museum pass). I did find a rather nice little AV theatrette showing a film of the master at work – he’s painting on glass, the camera is on the other side so you can see what he paints. I also quite liked the exhibition of photos of Picasso by many famous photographers – Man Ray, Cecil Beaton, amongst others. Anyway, somehow I finished it in double-quick time. Then it started to rain… of course that day I did not bring my umbrella… so I was stuck in the shop for some time. The rain died, I ventured out and since it was still rather early (I’d planned for a two hour visit to the museum but lasted only an hour there) I was very fortunate to bump into my friend in the street! We happily went back home to take a rest before dinner.

Dinner that evening was in the little neighbourhood restaurant around the corner from our apartment. We walked there around 7.20pm and found that it would not open till 8pm (that was when we found out that restaurants open about 8pm in France). On previous evenings, we must have reached the restaurants just after 8pm. So we wandered around and returned to the restaurant. We were the first customers in and spent some time deciphering the menu. The next group of customers (all 3 of them) walked in and ordered the beef fondue. So when we tried to order it, we were told that there was no beef left! Amazing. Did she have a huge lunch crowd? So we had to have fish instead (that was the only other item available on the menu). At least, we got to eat escargot. Ok, but not great. Well, we are talking about snails here. The owner’s cute little dog was running around in the restaurant – where are the environmental inspectors in France! Parisians indeed do love their dogs!

Of Cathedrals and Saints

Today, we took the train down to Rouen. We went down to Gare St-Lazare and found out that the train we were planning to take, was only scheduled for one day a year ! and as such had to take a later train, due to leave one hour later. That's what comes of not reading footnotes. Might be slightly difficult if they are in French, but at least there would have been some sort of warning. Anyway, we walked out for a short stroll about the place and did some window shopping before returning to catch our train.


We eventually arrived in Rouen just before 12 noon and found our way into the old city. Apparently Rouen suffered considerable damage during World War II but even so, there were many old, half-timbered houses which survived from the time. And certainly, the narrow, cobblestonee streets appear to be in good order. We walked down to Hotel de Ville and the neighbouring Eglise St-Ouen. Unfortunately the church was closed and we could not get in. But behind the church, we found a quiet park. It was lunch hour (maybe the reason why the church was closed) and many people were lying on the grass, enjoying the sun. This gentleman was definitely having a nap.


Rouen, we found, was a more leisurely place than Paris. People greeted each other with the traditional pecks on the cheeks, which we did not see in Paris. Drivers stop for people at the zebra crossings on the road. And lunch hour was definitely sacred. The church, various shops, and the tourist office were all closed. So we did as the people of Rouen did and lunched on baguettes in a square beside the cathedral.


Rouen is also full of Japanese tourists. The only spot open in the tourist office was the service point for Japanese tour groups. We also saw them in the streets, taking photos of the cathedral, and even at the next table to ours, sipping a cup of coffee. They were in the cathedral, too. I suppose it is because Rouen is such a convenient day out from Paris, and makes a nice accompaniment to a visit to Giverny. A "Monet day"!



Of course, the cathedral is the main attraction of any trip to Rouen. Its tall towers, intricate facade and delicate stonework are indeed very beautiful. But its main attraction had to be that it was painted so many times by Monet. Going inside, what I found interesting was the many little placards in the side chapels which described the chapel's contents and showed pictures of how the cathedral had been damaged in WWII. One placard in one particular chapel noted that this was the only chapel which had survived the bombs on that side of the cathedral and if it had been destroyed, likely the whole nave would have fallen in, and the whole cathedral destroyed. Here it is, with its wood-panelled walls and paintings still intact...


We were also lucky that the cathedral had been recently restored. In places like France and Italy, restoration is indeed a never-ending task, because of the number of such beautiful old buildings. No sooner is restoration completed on all the buildings, that it is time to start again. But it is well worth the effort as beautiful stone emerges from beneath centuries of grime.


We walked from the cathedral to this little street of shops, Rue de Gros Horloge to the Gros Horloge, or this big clock and the tall tower beside it. This was the shopping street in Rouen and as lunch time was past, it had come back to life. We made a little detour to the Palais du Justice, the old Normam Parliament Building and then found our way to the little church of St Joan of Arc, or Eglise Ste-Jeanne d'Arc.


St Joan of Arc is a French national heroine. Her feast day is celebrated throughout France, and the church is just part of a larger national monument to her. It is a small modern church, built besides the ruins of an older building (destroyed during WWII?). The church is roughly fan-shaped in area and has a whole wall of large, stained glass panels across the diameter of the hall. A flower bed outside marks the spot where Joan was burnt at the stake. On the other side of the church, is the marketplace. It seems a little incongruous but on the other hand, who knows? It could have stood there for many years before being rebuilt in a more modern manner...


We got back from Rouen that evening, in time for dinner at the restaurant in Nicholas Flamel's old house. It was a pretty restaurant, a charming place to have a meal. And service was pretty good. The food however, missed that special something. The appetisers were fine. I really enjoyed my foie gras with the baked gala apples on it. But my 7-hour lamb was a teensy bit dry. I also swapped dessert with my friend and her ginger creme brulee was not really very exciting.

After dinner, we went back to the apartment - to finish washing our clothes. Because we had no drier, the apartment was covered with clothes after that.

Photos here!