2013-8-2 - Vernon - Giverny - Monet's house & gardens

8/2  We arrived & docked in Vernon at 6 am. We were up & about at this god-awful hour as we were catching the bus tour to Monet's home & gardens in Giverny at 8:45. Beautiful country-side sites as we traveled to his home. It was a lovely, sunny day when we arrived at his beautiful home & quaint little town. 



 

One of many paths leading to his home

 

 

Loved these pictures - looks pretty much the same today

"The first time Claude Monet visited the Louvre to study art, he saw painters copying the work of the Old Masters. He would have none of that; he moved his easel & paints to a window & got to work painting the real world. And much of it, he discovered, changed in the varied light throughout the day. Thus, the most interesting & revealing paintings for Monet were created "en plein air," an approach he would embrace in most of his work...Throughout the 1870s he lived in Argenteuil on the right bank of he Seine. This popular rural escape for Parisians was the subject of some of his most famous works. But Monet is best known for his gardens at Giverny. He had been living in Poissy but hungered for change after the death of his wife Camille in 1879. During a train journey in 1883, he stumbled on Giverny & moved there specifically to create a landscape that he could translate onto the canvas. The rest of his life could be viewed as a kind of painterly laboratory as he depicted subjects in varying shades of light & weather...The artist died of lung cancer in 1926." 

Very nice, unhurried tour if you had the patience to wait for the masses to go through the house & gardens. We weren't supposed to take pics in the house - shame, it was so beautiful.

 

 

Japanese gardens

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We had time to wander around this wonderful little town - stop at a few shops - sit in the shade with a glass of wine before getting back on the bus.

 

 

Well, I'm confused again. The boat stayed overnight in Vernon & there was a walking tour but I have no  pictures of the town nor do I remember taking the tour.  I think I had too much sun - or maybe too much wine ??