Monet's Gardens at Giverny

Yesterday we docked in the charming town of Vernon.  A short bus ride brought us to the magical Giverny where Monet lived and worked for half of his life.  Gail was excited to learn that the famous dancer Isadora Duncan had also lived here.  Unfortunately, the guide would say "that pink house we just passed was where Isadora lived".  Our guide Veronique's English was not as good as Ilyse's French.  Between the two of them we managed to understand.  Ilyse has been our savieur more than once on this trip.  Having our own personal translator has come in very handy.

The gardens are so beautiful they left of us spellbound. On one side are gardens with a huge variety of flowers and plants in all colors and sizes.  The house where his family lived along with several studios is also there.  The house is also very colorful and just delightful.  We then crossed through a tunnel that took us to the water lilies garden.  The sun was just starting to shine down (it was raining when we arrived) and the lilies were just starting to open.  The reflection upon the water was something to witness and easy to see why the impressionists liked to be near water since they were so captivated by the light and dedicated to showing how light reflection impacts they way a scene looks.  Monet did a large series of paintings of the water lilies and also of the cathedral at Rouen during different times of the day.  He would work on a number of canvases at the same time, and move from canvas to canvas as the light changed.  After a tour of the gardens and house, we meandered around the property by ourselves and listened to Debussy's Reverie.

 We had started the day with Gail's accessory of the day, which was a gossamer white scarf, which will be enjoyed on her cruise to Greece later this summer.  Back on board it was time for more activities and gifts.
For lunch we had a crepes demonstration.  Yum! And later was a pastry demonstration.  Gail received soaps shaped like pastries and an I Love Bacon book (the Abrams girls believe the only really necessary "food groups" are bread, potatoes, chocolate and bacon).  So you see, today was about Creativity with Food.

In the afternoon Mom was feeling well enough to join us for a stroll through the lovely town of Vernon.