Colors, colors everywhere!
Trip Start
Jun 25, 2008
1
10
11
Trip End
Aug 27, 2008
Giverny,
Normandy,
France
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
I'd been dying to see Monet's house forever and finally my dream morphed into reality this weekend. In an odd turn of Parisian weather events it was even sunny and warm, not damp and cloudy as usual.
After my first failed attempt at catching the train to Vernon, I was prepared to leave my place over an hour before the train was to depart. This time, I made it a whole four minutes before the train's departure. Much better than ten minutes late!
In Vernon, my friend and I rented a bike and biked the lovely four kilometers to Monet's house in the little village of Giverny
Just like in the paintings
. It was stunning. The burst of colors was really quite astonishing. The lily pond is just as I had imagined it when viewing Monet's paintings in the Musée d'Orsay and the Orangérie. The house is just as charming as one would expect a (wealthy) painter to own: it's painted in the same shades of yellow, green and blue found in his works. I don't know how many dozens of photos I took of the same bridge and lily pond, but it was all spectacularly breathtaking.
I also visited the Musée d'Art Américain, a small museum dedicated to the American impressionists. They had a really interesting video montage of excerpts of American and French films that show works of art by American artists. For instance, I hadn't realized that The Rocky Horror Picture Show features Grant Wood's American Gothic, or that Les Demoiselles de Rochefort features a specially-created Alexander Calder mobile. In short, it was interesting and novel. The museum itself has a gorgeous garden, in memory of Monet.
So there's not much more to say, really. It was stunning, relaxing and good exercise (the bikes were older than I am, which means it was double the effort)
The Lily Pond
. I'd go again in a heartbeat. Since my last entry I've also found some very cool cafes, one called Les Etages near the Odeon and a wine bar in St. Germain des Près where all the hoity-toity Sorbonne students gather to be intellectual. Additionally, I've taken to eating a lot of baked goods (not pastries), especially in lieu of breakfast, lunch and dinner, but I reason that I'll pay for it when I get back to healthy Berkeley. You only live once and I don't smoke, do drugs and barely drink alcohol (usually).
In terms of cultural activities, I visited the Musée du Vin, a precious little museum with wax figures, displays of wine glasses and decanters, and a nice reward of a glass of wine at the end. All of this in the former cellar of a former church that no longer exists.
In my attempt to demonstrate that I do appreciate my Armenian heritage, I also visited the Komitas statue visibly located near the Seine, close to the Eiffel Tower, as well as the not very Armenian-looking Armenian church. It had a lot of paintings, a decorated dome, elaborate windows....everything that Armenian churches do not generally have.
Monet's garden
But then my attempt at appreciation crumbled when the priest (who was giving a lecture) decided that he was going to speak Armenian out of principle, despite there being two people who did not understand. Naturally, I left after an hour when he wasn't looking - and that's when I went to the wine museum. Really, I've had it with people criticizing me because my family thought it wasn't a big deal if I didn't speak Armenian. And if a priest wants to act that way...well, be my guest. I just won't be there to listen. In addition to all that, I had an interesting (?) encounter with a crazy person yesterday in the grocery store. I had placed my bottles of water standing up on the conveyor belt. Naturally, they fell when the cashier moved the belt. The man behind me said something that I didn't understand, so I just smiled lightly and said nothing. All the sudden he starts muttering and the only thing that I hear is « Hysterical....Passive-Aggressive....!!! » Um, thanks asshole. As I was placing my stuff in a bag, the cashier asked the man if he was planning on going on vacation. His response: « It's not for my social class! » Well, what can you do, right?
Otherwise, I've been working rather hard, finding grants for the museum, doing research on tax breaks for corporate donations, translating incoherently-written French documents and creating a sponsorship brochure. It's fun, but it certainly doesn't leave much time for site-seeing. Luckily, I have lunch everyday either by the Seine overseeing Notre Dame, or in the Jardin Luxembourg, or in one of the many other gardens in the Latin Quarter. Just strolling after work after all the museums are closed is so wonderful. And I'm certainly appreciating that happy hour is well-established. You can get the best drinks at the cutest places for 5€! I don't take advantage enough...
Comments
giverny
Where are all those photos? I feel robbed.