Giverny

Giverny Giverny was by far my favorite excursion. The adventure began when we missed the train, because we got distracted on a little store at the train station. We ran like crazy when we realized what time it was. We arrived at the platform no more than a minute after the time the train was schedule to leave. Our first lesson of the day was that French trains always depart on time. After speaking to several people and waiting in line to change our tickets, we were ready to try it again. I must admit that at some point I even thought of just going back home. This would have been the biggest mistake, since what we found at Giverny was nothing like what we had seen before. On my first visit to Paris, when I was no more than 9 years old, I was amazed by the paintings I saw at the Orsay Museum. I immediately fell in love with the impressionistic movement of the 19th century. It was to me unbelievable to see how thick strokes of paint could create an image that transmitted so much light and movement. Claude Monet was in my opinion one of the greatest impressionistic painters. It was a great privilege to be able to go to the place where he lived for more than 40 years of his life. The village has a large area devoted to Claude Monet. In this area you can find the church where he is buried, an impressionistic museum, his bust by Daniel Goupil and his house and gardens. Because of the lack of time, we focused on exploring his house and gardens. The house was more beautiful than what I had imagined. It was surrounded by gorgeous plants and flowers. The rooms of the house were all painted in bright colors and they all had windows that allowed you to look outside at the wonderful gardens. While in there, it was easy to imagine the life of the painter. After being there for no more than a couple of minutes, I could not help but feel an urge to paint the beautiful gardens outside and it was not difficult to understand why the painter loved the place as much as he did. As I was about to leave the museum, I realized that I had not seen the other part of the gardens. It would have been a great loss if I had not decided to go back and take a look. I could not believe what I found there. It was like if some of the most famous paintings by Claude Monet had come to life. It was amazing to be standing there in the very famous bridge he painted on so many different occasions. It was at that time that I realized that all of the issues we had in arriving at Giverny were worth it so I could be able to experience the wonderful place that surrounded one of my favorite artists throughout his life. With this experience I felt that I could appreciate his paintings more thoroughly.