GIVERNY AND MONET

Giverny, a village in the province of Normandy is about 50 miles northwest of Paris. On day two we traveled by motor coach to my most anticipated destination of the tour, Monet's Garden in Giverny.  We passed fields of bright yellow canola, drove along the Seine, saw a barge, and marveled at the quaintness of the homes and churches in the small villages. 

Canola field and tree infested with mistletoe

Monet's Giverny residence was a former cider farm. Monet transformed the neglected two acre vegetable plot into his famous flower garden. He planted flowers according to color and height, with trellises and arches carrying the color skyward. Monet didn't constrain his plantings but allowed them to grow and ramble freely.

 In 1893, Monet purchased property across the road and created the water garden that is so prominent in nearly 250 of his paintings. The water garden is full of asymmetries and curves, inspired by Japanese gardens. There is the famous Japanese bridge covered with wisteria; other smaller bridges; weeping willows, bamboo and, of course, the beautiful water lilies.

Sights and Sounds of The Garden

PARIS, A WEEK TO REMEMBER

The first time I saw the TV promotion I knew I was going to go.  "Paris, A Week To Remember", visit Monet's Garden, the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, The Louvre, ooh la la! 

Visiting Paris has always been at the top of my bucket list.  And so it came to be, I went, I saw, I loved it!

My sister, Alma, was my traveling companion.  She flew from Baltimore to Detroit to connect with the tour group.  Our plane, scheduled for 9:40 pm was delayed but I had passes to Delta's Sky Club so our three hour wait for departure was very comfortable. 

Rose was our tour guide, she made sure we were well taken care of from start to finish.  Robbie and Jim were the TV station celebs who accompanied the tour. They were great hosts.


We arrived in Paris about 1:30 pm.  Charles de Gaulle airport is about 15 miles north of Paris. John Andre, our local guide, met us at the airport. On the motor coach to the hotel he oriented us with interesting facts about the city and culture and identified the sites we passed. 

Some interesting tidbits:
Population of Paris:  approximately 2 million
Area: 41 square miles
Highest point: Montmartre 
The Seine bisects the city, there are 35 bridges that span the river
The two islands in the Seine are Ile Saint-Louis and Ile de la Cite.

We passed the Stade de France, the soccer stadium which seats 110,000, and the Bois de Boulogne, the famous Parisian park that is 2 1/2 times larger than Central Park. Finally, we reached our hotel, Puhlman, Eiffel Tower.

Our first dinner in Paris was at Le Baillide Suffren, a bistro near the Eiffel Tower.  The croque provencal was delicious.

La Baillide Suffren

First view of the Eiffel Tower