Best Garden for Impressionists

This summer I had the wonderful opportunity to return to one of my favorite spots ever: Monet’s garden at Giverny. At first I was confused when I started reading about Monet’s life. Why would anyone spend decades painting a single garden? A decade ago I visited the site with another Impressionism nut. Between the two of us we took 6 rolls of 36 shots each! As I walked around I realized why this garden had become so important to Monet and why he was content here. He created his whole universe just inside.

D.R. at the Clos normand section of Monet's grounds

What struck me during this visit to Giverny was that each step I took made for a different impression, a different view, a different painting. It took me a couple of hours to walk through the garden! Granted, the flowers were in bloom and sometimes I had to stop to watch interesting people. But most of all, I was trying to think about Monet and how to understand his wonderful work.

The Japanese bridge in the water garden

I spent a couple of hours circling his water pond as well. The water lilies boasted flowers and the weeping willows spilled into the pond. Clouds hovered in the distance. Crowds perched on the Japanese bridge doing selfies or shouting at their friends to hurry up and take the shot.

Water lily reflection

I kept trying to notice as much as possible, anything I might have missed the first time through.

Every shot a different possible painting

The experience was delightful. I was thankful I had time to slowly examine the garden and to take picture after picture. After all, I had to take the garden home with me, didn’t I?

A gentle gift of nature

Here’s a good thing: these days Giverny is easy to reach by public transport.  From Gare St. Lazare you take the train to Vernon. Special buses cart people between the train station and the small town of Giverny.

Like to travel? I love to use foreign settings in my writing. Please visit my author website at http://www.drransdellnovels.com