Giverny - Monet's House and Famous Water Garden

The trip to Giverny was Kalen's idea and it was a great one. We were in the Monet mood with all of the other exhibits that we saw, so we decided to take the trip to Vernon (France, not Arizona) to see the gardens. Good buddy Rick Steves said to grab the first train out of town to beat the crowds and get the best photos.

On the streets by 7:20, we used the Metro to get to stop Saint Lazare. Then we had to find the place to buy tickets for the train to Vernon. This was easier said then done. Actually, purchasing the tickets was easy, since there was a little booth. Finding the Gare [railroad station] Saint Lazare (this was supposed to be close, through a wild stretch of the imagination and miles of tunnels) was a bit more challenging. I thought that we were looking for the rail line RER E, but we were supposed to be looking for an intercity rail line. Finally headed in the right direction, I faced a MOUNTAIN of non-operable escalator stairs. I have never seen so many steps that I knew that I had to climb. Made it to the top (thinking that this trip better be good), we moved towards the station.

Kalen figured out the monitor, we grabbed a couple of croissants (chocolate, of course) and some drinks and off we were to board the first train of the day (yea!). This was a 45 minute ride. Upon arrival at Gare Vernon, I knew (from chatting with my now best friend Rick Steves) that we couldn't dally in finding the bus. He was right. It was outside of the station. The people lines and loaded, and off we went on a ten minute ride to Giverny. The area looks like the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a slow flowing river and what looked to me like a canal. The town is very cute with flowers and vines and green. We walked through the streets until we came to Monet's house.

Once inside, I knew (again from my good friend Rick Steve's) that we had to high tail it down to the water gardens while everyone else dallied in the upper garden. WOW! Although a few tourist groups (Germans and Asians) had made it there before us, they stayed together so that when the moved, they moved as a group and cleared an area for awesome photos. I tried my German on one of the German tourists and he smiled. Perhaps he understood what I said?

We photographed the Water Garden from all angles with the Lily pads and the hanging branches from the trees. The Japanese bridge would sometimes empty and with patience we were able to get some nice photos. Here are posted a few. We took well over 300 photos at the site. The other gardens were beautiful also, and although the roses weren't climbing over the trellises, I am now inspired to redo my yard into some beautifully colored areas. I took photos to remember some of my most inspirational moments.

Inside the house we were able to see his works. Some were originals, some weren't. The copies listed where the originals were and his work is on display around the world.

We stopped at a little stand to have a Baguette with ham and cheese and a drink. The walk back to the bus stop was pleasant. Kalen saw some wheat fields and went to take pictures. Of course, the bus pulled up then and I'm in a frenzy thinking that the oncoming masses of tour groups were going to take all of the seats and we would have to wait two hours for the next bus. But luckily, the groups had their own bus and walked right past the one into town. We hopped on the bus and went back to Vernon. With train tickets checked, we stopped into another cafe and had Peach Melba and a Banana Split. We made it to the bus with time to spare and returned to Paris...to see more Monet.