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Published: August 8th 2007
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Giverny: A Day at Monet Headquarters The day was planned out pretty well - almost. Bob got up at 5 AM!!! I think he’s the type of man who needs to have “chill” mornings, not just get up and go. So he had his coffee and read his online news while Tita Lut and I stayed in bed until it was our turn to get ready.
We met Leroy and Melissa at 8 AM at Metro Villiers. It was a short ride to Saint-Lazare to connect to the train toward Rouen. The train ride itself went pretty fast considering it was just 45 minutes. I guess we were all still wide awake and energized, so we talked a lot…believe me the other way around was not the same.
The train dropped us of at Vernon. From there we caught a bus that dropped us off at Giverny. The whole excursion so far has been great. Seeing what is outside of Paris - the cute little towns, farmers markets - there was even a Monoprix sighting. If it hasn’t been mentioned yet, Monoprix is kind of like a Target to me. At first I thought Walmart - but NO…it’s not
cheap by comparison. The products are not that low-end either. C’mon…I bought an umbrella there for 18 euros - that’s breaking the bank just to stay dry.
Anyhow, it was a beautiful day for Giverny. This tiny town was where Claude Monet resided and found his musée when it came to a lot of his paintings. Initially you expect it to just be any ordinary garden. OH NO….it was beyond ordinary. As Leroy has said to me before - Rêve en Couleur…but it wasn’t a dream. Monet’s garden was overflowing with crazy flowers and plants. It was a botanist’s wet, colorful dream. This was the first time I ever went NUTS taking photos of flowers and landscaping.
The main attraction, it seemed, was the lily pond (Nympheas) for which Monet was known for…well he was known for a lot of his paintings. It was definitely picturesque and I can see why he was inspired. As Tita Lut commented, though, it was prettier as a painting. Don’t get me wrong - Monet just married his little colorful imagination into the painting.
After perusing the garden, we headed to stand in line to see the inside of his house.
I wish photo taking was allowed. Monet had a rad house. It was no mansion but you can tell he was no starving artist. The pink/salmon exterior was well kept. From what I recall it was surrounded by more landscaping. Inside was modest but full of art. He had an extensive collection of Japanese prints!! One room was filled with replicas of his art work….I wish some originals were there to make it a richer experience.
I think my favorite room was his kitchen. It was huge and yellow! All the original copperware hung along the wall…it was fantastic! I mean pots and pans were definitely well maintained - so shiny still! The dining table fit a good 6-8 people - perfect for hosting a huge feast. You can just tell it was a kitchen that was once filled with “meals together”.
After the tour, an adventure, so to speak, began in trying to catch a taxi. Apparently you can take a taxi there from the Vernon train depot…but from Giverny - not so easy. After an attempt to call for one, we realized we were not going to catch the train departing around 1 pm to get
back to the city. Instead, we all enjoy a leisurely lunch in this tiny town. We were all pretty starved - so we order up: Leroy -Salade Monet, Bob - Sausage, Chicken and potatoes, Tita Lut - (Ray) Skate wing, Melissa - skate wing, and me - Quiche Lorraine with a side salad and a GIGANTIC piece of prosciutto on top. A bottle of wine was shared amongst us. I had the perfect ending, though - chantilly coffee…one of hundreds I was about to have on this vacation.
Finally we catch the bus we originally took to get there. We were all exhausted. So much so that during our train ride back to Paris - we all slept. I didn’t even make an attempt to small talk…I just straight up knocked out.
I think we returned around 4-430 pm. Tita Lut, Bob, and I headed back to the apartment for some rest. I took a nap as the day has not ended! At 630pm, Melissa rang to say I was to meet her and Leroy at the Metro.
Ave Maria is the Spot The plan was to have dinner with Hubert, his girlfriend Élodie, and his friend,
Mathieu. We met at the CUTEST place called Ave Maria. It was reminiscent of CHA CHA CHA on Virgil and Melrose in Los Angeles. The place was colorful and consisted of a hodge podge of motifs from all over the world…Chinese umbrellas that hung from the ceiling, eclectic South American drinks such as caipirinha, food that fused English and South America (Melissa and I shared a delish “Amazon Fish and Chips). There was definitely a Brazilian thing going on.
The three of us were to meet Hubert and company at 8…of course, the French are just as bad as Filipinos when it comes to arriving on time !! They didn’t arrive until about 845… that’s ok, though, because we were enjoying our drinks and just chit chatting. Once they arrived and introductions were made, we all feasted on some grub and drinks. It turns out Hubert has been good friends with Mathieu for a good 15 years. He lives in Lebanon and Hubert and Élodie are there visiting him right now as I type this. The conversation flows pretty well even with the loud setting…talking about movies (yes, I admitted I like Working Girl!), 21st birthday celebrations, etc.
After our goodbyes, Melissa, Leroy, and I proceeded to take a long ass walk home…well not all the way but just about. It was a GREAT experience, though. Paris does not sleep!!! Restaurants were open at 1 AM serving food/coffee/drinks. Tons of people just sat there at the cafés, people watching and relaxing. Tons of people on the streets. We walked through the Marais and Place des Vosges. Also, there were lots of boutique type shops there…far too expensive for our measly dollars it seemed, though.
After an hour’s worth of walking, we got on the Metro. We missed our connection unfortunately and had to cab it home. I say I got in at 3 AM…. a long day but definitely C’EST BON!
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anonymous
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Were you trying to write too Castro? What's up with that? I can't wait to see you in Madrid!!