I don't remember much about the day in between Mont St. Michel, although I know that we were traveling between Brittany and the part of Normandy that is closer to Paris. I think it may have rained much of the day, but I'm not sure? What I do remember is arriving at our super cute cottage right next to an old mill and on a river and having dinner at a random fish farm, which was much nicer than I'm making it sound, although it was random and a fish farm.
The next morning we got up early to go see Monet's garden at Giverny, which has been on my (admittedly long) list of places that I want to see since forever. To avoid waiting in the longest line ever to get into Giverny, we bought a combined house/garden and museum ticket at the museum, and then got to go in the back door to the garden. It was definitely a good choice!
I will warn you that this post will have a copious amount of pictures, because there was a garden involved. And not just any garden: Monet's garden!
Immediately after entering the door into the garden, we were in a floral wonderland. The gardens were filled to overflowing with different flowers in no clear pattern, which I guess you either like or don't like. I happen to like billowing profusions of flowers, but I definitely overheard a man who was from somewhere on the East Coast (my money is on New Jersey) complaining loudly about the lack of organization in the gardens. Seriously, who complains about Monet's gardens?
We started out in the gardens near to the house, which were pretty much amazing! Because it had been such a cold spring, all of the plants were weeks delayed, meaning that we saw a lot of the early spring flowers (but none of the famous water lilies were blooming). When we saw that the weather might start to turn bad, we went under the road to the see the water garden side before the weather could get worse.
The water garden side was really amazing. You could really see Monet's paintings in the garden- the bridges and scenery that he painted. And it was so beautiful! And packed with tourists, but, clearly for a good reason.
Luckily-ish for us, there was a brief rain shower that sort of cleared out the gardens a little, so we actually got to get a picture on the bridge and see the rest of the gardens with a few less people than we started with. And, let me tell you, the wisteria on the bridge was just gorgeous and so sweet smelling!
We finished touring the gardens before walking through the house and hitting up the gift shop. The house wasn't that notable, although the views out of every window definitely were.
Once we finished with the house and gardens, we had lunch at a greenhouse, toured the museum, walked around the super cute little town, saw an outdoor sculpting event, and took a break for a glass of wine on a really nice patio with lots of rocks for babycakes to play with. Altogether, it was a very successful day!
I loved the chance to see Monet's gardens. While it is true that I pretty much love the chance to see any garden, seeing a garden that was woven into so many of my favorite paintings was really a delight!
It was also the perfect activity to end the trip on. The next day, we parted ways: me on the train to Paris and then Zürich, and the Pattons back to the UK. It was a really lovely road trip through France, full of beautiful places and fun times with friends.
 |
| Our cottage. |
The next morning we got up early to go see Monet's garden at Giverny, which has been on my (admittedly long) list of places that I want to see since forever. To avoid waiting in the longest line ever to get into Giverny, we bought a combined house/garden and museum ticket at the museum, and then got to go in the back door to the garden. It was definitely a good choice!
I will warn you that this post will have a copious amount of pictures, because there was a garden involved. And not just any garden: Monet's garden!
 |
| Entrance to the museum. |
Immediately after entering the door into the garden, we were in a floral wonderland. The gardens were filled to overflowing with different flowers in no clear pattern, which I guess you either like or don't like. I happen to like billowing profusions of flowers, but I definitely overheard a man who was from somewhere on the East Coast (my money is on New Jersey) complaining loudly about the lack of organization in the gardens. Seriously, who complains about Monet's gardens?
 |
| Monet's house. |
We started out in the gardens near to the house, which were pretty much amazing! Because it had been such a cold spring, all of the plants were weeks delayed, meaning that we saw a lot of the early spring flowers (but none of the famous water lilies were blooming). When we saw that the weather might start to turn bad, we went under the road to the see the water garden side before the weather could get worse.
The water garden side was really amazing. You could really see Monet's paintings in the garden- the bridges and scenery that he painted. And it was so beautiful! And packed with tourists, but, clearly for a good reason.
Luckily-ish for us, there was a brief rain shower that sort of cleared out the gardens a little, so we actually got to get a picture on the bridge and see the rest of the gardens with a few less people than we started with. And, let me tell you, the wisteria on the bridge was just gorgeous and so sweet smelling!
 |
| The gardeners use this boat to tent to the water lilies! |
We finished touring the gardens before walking through the house and hitting up the gift shop. The house wasn't that notable, although the views out of every window definitely were.
Once we finished with the house and gardens, we had lunch at a greenhouse, toured the museum, walked around the super cute little town, saw an outdoor sculpting event, and took a break for a glass of wine on a really nice patio with lots of rocks for babycakes to play with. Altogether, it was a very successful day!
I loved the chance to see Monet's gardens. While it is true that I pretty much love the chance to see any garden, seeing a garden that was woven into so many of my favorite paintings was really a delight!
It was also the perfect activity to end the trip on. The next day, we parted ways: me on the train to Paris and then Zürich, and the Pattons back to the UK. It was a really lovely road trip through France, full of beautiful places and fun times with friends.
