Paris - Day 4

Day 4 of our Paris trip was probably my favorite day.  My sister had arranged for a tour guide to pick us up at our hotel and take us to Monet's Garden at Giverny.  It was about an hour and a half drive outside of Paris but well worth the trip.  It was also interesting to see a bit of the French countryside.  Our guide gave us a little history lesson about Monet on the drive there.  It was the same guide from our trip to Versailles.  He was really a wealth of knowledge!  Once we arrived, he directed us to the Water Lily Garden, Monet's home and flower garden.  He also showed us where we could find the Impressionist Museum which had a special showing of some Japanese art work that was in the style of Monet.  Then he let us explore at our leisure.

  We started out walking through the Water Lily Garden.  It was lush and green and had lots of winding paths.  I could just envision Monet sitting at an easel painting the weeping willows, lily pads and their reflections in the water.

Next, we meandered through Monet's flower gardens.  My daughter had her camera too and she took lots of pictures of her favorite flowers that she hoped to draw once we got home.  Here are some of the flowers she picked out from Monet's Garden.

Every where you turned, there were flowers in bloom.

We were able to also tour the inside of Monet's home but were not allowed to take any photographs. Here's a glimpse of the front of his home.  All of the large windows opened up to the vast gardens.

The inside of his home is a bright and cheerful place with lots of vibrant colors - colorful not garish. His studio was amazing - filled with his own paintings and those from other artists such as Cezanne.  It was truly a magical place.

After returning to our hotel, and before we ate dinner, we decided to make the trek to the Basilica of Sacre Coeur.  It is located at the highest point of the city.  There are close to 300 steps to reach the top (there is a Funicula - an enclosed escalator/elevator - that also goes to the top).  We chose to take the stairs.  Here is my daughter at the base......

and my daughter and my niece after reaching the top.  Way to go girls!!!!!

This is the view of the church we encountered when we reached the top.  It's so magnificent!

We were able to walk through the church and then we sat on the stairs outside to take in the fabulous view of Paris.  The walk down the stairs was much easier - especially with the promise of dinner and a fruit tart at the bottom!

"Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love."  - Claude Monet