Giverny and Artsy Bridges
Trip Start
Jun 14, 2009
1
5
30
Trip End
Jul 14, 2009
Paris,
France
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The Garmin(GPS) is a great device although a little vague on the small rues and roundabouts of France. So after rerouting us after misinterpretations of its instructions (Steve did not get lost, it just didn’t give him enough detail) we found the very scenic route to Giverny. The French countryside northwest of Paris was a mix of the sights and smells of Wisconsin and the ancient villages of a country that has been populated for 10,000 plus years.
Monet Garden (Jardin):
Sandy and Linda were taken by the bright red poppies against the wheat fields
Poppies at Monet's Garden
.Rachel and Audrey loved every flower they saw and insisted on photographing each new flower they came upon.
Annalisa has done a great job interpreting signs and discussions for us, it’s been fun to listen to her speak French.
We all really loved this day. It’s really a magical garden (jardin) area. The main house has the French country feel. The gardens are full of colorful flowers and the water garden is influenced by the Japanese gardens as is much of the art in the house. The big weeping willows and lily pads were very dramatic, as was the island of bamboo forest.
We picnicked down the road with lots of energetic school kids. We don’t think the French kids really go to school they just go on field trips all of the time, which is a wonderful way to get an education.
Dinner that evening was at an Italian place near our hotel called Pizza Grinelle. We had the best waiter we’ve had this trip. He was a handsome Italian who flirted with the girls calling them all Princesses, and calling Linda and I queens
Giverny
. When a pretty French girl would walk down the street he couldn’t keep his eyes on his job. He was very entertaining, and spoke to us in French knowing we appreciated his efforts and the food was good too. There was egg on our pizza and the girls got their fill of pasta. Our French bottle of wine, Gamay, was tres bon.Alexandra III Bridge-Touted as the most artistic and photographed bridge in Paris. We did our share of photos of this bridge with its elaborate sculptures made of iron and stone. It’s such a magnificent bridge there was a professional photoshoot going on and right below we were able to watch some fancy houseboats go by.
Comments
Giverny
Great pics - and blog - brings back fond memories.
Sounds like Annalisa's French is being used - hope she is enjoying it.
The Italian restaurant sounded like fun, nice to have a waiter with a friendly attitude! Love to all.
Monet Day!
Hi, Gang!
Finally had a minute to catch up on your adventures. Sounds like you're having an incredibly fun time. I am soooo jealous of your day with Monet.
Better late than never! Here is the very special brewery I'm hoping you guys can visit in Munich. It's called the Weihenstephan Brewery (Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan if you are attempting to speak the language.) Located in Freising, just north of Munich, wave at the LOWA Boots factory as you're driving by! I was wrong about the date. They got started in the year 1040, not 1300 so I guess they've had a good bit of practice at perfecting the art of beer.
I hope you can get there. It's a pretty cool place.
Really enjoying your posts. :D
kit