Monet

- - Mike & Groverlee's - -
France and Italy - 2015
Claude Oscar Monet - Giverny

From the Itinerary:

June 13th... After breakfast disembark for an excursion into the countryside that inspired Claude Oscar Monet. Visit the village of Giverny (I'll have goose bumps here!), see where he lived, his gardens and his grave. In the afternoon we are invited to the residence of a local family for a Home-hosted Visit. I think we will be served many French pastries that they are known for there. Back at the ship we have a relaxing dinner.

June 13, 2015

What an amazing day! At 8:30 we boarded the bus out of Vernon to Giverny. As we entered the area we were the first bus and only a private Japanese tour of four were in front of us. As they opened the door those sillies went to the Norma gardens and the doorpost of the Japanese garden was right by ME. I was the absolute FIRST person in the garden and Michael was able to take pictures with no other people there. The gardens are breathtaking.. I still have goose-bumps!

It was so quiet and the Japanese bridges.. there were several... and the water lilies were anything but a disappointment. This lady that came up behind me said" I don't get it; we have a prettier Japanese Garden in Texas!" I asked if she was kidding me.. that only this garden had the heart of Monet. I asked her if she could feel is presence? I think she glanced at my badge and thought "Oh, no! One of those crazy hippies from California". That's Ok with me because if she could have read MY mind it would have said, " Hey lady, you need to cross the Red River a little more!"

After the Japanese garden we went to the main Norma garden by Monet's home. OMG! It was as though every flower known to man had come to live with Claude. The only ones I didn't see we're bulbs like glass, tulips and daffodils which I'm sure bloomed earlier in the spring. They were so lush and abundant you hardly had to worry about photographing people in the pictures and by now another group had arrived. Walking through his house was a treat. Although the pictures on the wall of his had been traded for copies (we will see the originals in Paris) all the Japanese paintings he had on the walls were originals. His kitchen was my favorite although his bedroom and of course his view out the window of the garden was magnificent!

We exited through the gift shop just like at Disneyland and I loaded up on souvenirs. We walked down the road to... what could make this better?.... a small museum with many Degas on loan from Paris. (More goose bumps). As we walked through the town to the church to see Monet's grave, we saw to the side a field of poppies and took pictures. I was able to sneak through an area they had made where Michael could take my picture in the poppies but I wasn't smashing any. The church ended up being quite a walk uphill and we were running out of time so I power walked as best I could, saw the grave, bang, bang, and zipped down the hill to the bus. As we were all following folks to the bus (there were probably a dozen and since we were first we were farthest away), I didn't see a small post in front of me... it caught my shoe and down I went kaboom! I'd worn my new outfit as it was such a special day and later we would be going to our host visit. As I landed in the rocks, my new pants were trashed...nothing but a bloody hole and my hand had a little rock and it was bleeding and my other knee was all scraped up. Everyone rushed to help me up, no great feat in itself. Surprisingly, after Neosporin, big bandages and embarrassment, I was doing better and it didn't stop me later from touring the town of feet and buying some new pants and shirt at their little outdoor market, There I bought some funky pants for Alysyn too.

We got back to the bus and it was time for our home hosted dinner. That was most unusual for me, first, we were put with a group we didn't know and were sent walking with our host, a thirty year old journalist who spoke perfect English and would answer any question about living in France. His "wife".. they are not married under the 1997 "pact" which was first made for homosexuals, but some heterosexuals like them use it. MIT gives them civil marriage perks. She was not there as she is a child psychologist. He said they EARE both from Paris but there are no jobs for her in that field there at her young age, they were buying their home, a big garden and three floors , the top one not remodeled yet. He served us beer, and hard cider with an apple tart like the one the pastry chef had shown us how to make the day before. Yum! He works In a neighboring town at a three-times-a-week newspaper. He admits he is much more left of normal, but does not consider himself an extremist. I thought he was adorable, being the little host as his wife was still working at town.

He talked about the separation of church and state and says that every church built before 1905 belongs to the state. Those built after 1905 belong to the individual groups. That means that all these beautiful churches we've seen on our trip belong to the people..

The church was right next to Loris' house and the bells of the church go on for 15 minutes. He and the neighbors complained to the priest but he said that would be the business of the city hall. Off they went to the city hall but the mayor there said that it was the business of the church. Soooooo nothing gets changed.

The little community was not so happy with Monet. When he came at first he was not so famous.. it was the Americans who made him famous as the Paris folk were still with the salon in Paris thinking art should be church, royalty or mythology. After Monet was famous he did things that upset the community, diverting the river for his garden, breaking other rules of the area. Now of course he is bringing tourists here with many Euros to spend.

We visited for a long time and then took a tour of the adorable house ..HGTV House Hunters International here we are! By then it was time for us to hoof it down to the boat for Cocktail Hour.. Heaven forbid we miss a drink or a meal. And of course then it was time to eat. We forgot to take the camera this time so all the beautiful food just got eaten, not immortalized. Michael and I had a "duet of Lamb Rack and lamb Kofta served on Zucchini /Eggplant Ratatouille, Snow Peas, and Polenta. Delicious but never as good as Barbara La Salle's! The appetizer was Smoked salmon arranged with potato pancake and crispy garden lettuce. Like the mussels, I gave my smoked salmon away. Then we had puff pastry filled with creamy mushroom sauce! Yum! I ate every bit! Dessert was honey parfait baked in meringue and surrounded with Raspberry couloirs...kind of like Baked Alaska but Michael and I opted for a bowl of ice cream.

For evening entertainment there was a lady who had married an American during the war. I decided to forego it and catch up on my journal and put up my bandaged knee. Michael said it was good, nut like the castle on the hill I won't write about it secondhand.

Good night from Monet's neighborhood, Grove