What fun to have more visitors! Daniel and Sefi arrived for a quick 2 1/2 day visit. Paris was their last leg of a 2-month journey: Guatemala, Mexico, San Mateo, New York and finally Paris. They were pretty tired after so much traveling, but they pushed and squeezed in as much as possible.
Sefi, Daniel and me with Notre Dame in the background. You can also see many love locks on the bridge.
Daniel and Sefi at Les Invalides
Sacre Coeur (Montmartre) That's me on the left in the turquoise coat.
Daniel, me and Miles at the Eiffel Tower
So after we bid them "adieu", we welcomed our next set of visitors, Pat and Pekka Sinervo from Toronto. The three of us went to Versailles one day. Unfortunately, Miles was working with a colleague on research and couldn't join us. I forgot my camera, so there are no pictures of Versailles. But the next day, with Miles AND the camera in tow, we ventured out to Giverny, Claude Monet's home and gardens. We were so lucky that Pat and Pekka had rented a car which made the 1 1/2 hour trip very easy.
And what a day we had! The season at Giverny ends Nov. 1 so we just squeezed it in before it closed. No doubt the spring/summer has a more sumptuous amount of flowers and colors, but we saw plenty of fall beauty: lush green fields, trees with orange/red/yellow/amber leaves a blue sky...it's no wonder that Monet chose this spot to live and paint. It was quite a contrast with bustling Paris and we just relaxed and enjoyed meandering through the garden, visiting his charming and modest house and also visiting the new Giverny Museum of Impressionism.
Enough words! Here's a sample of what we saw:
Haystacks in a field
Pretty fall flowers
Bamboo along the creek
Fall colors and lily pads
Lily pads and weeping willow
Reflected Japanese bridge
Rowboat in the lake
Swirling dahlia
Monet's living room/studio
Not a bad motor scooter cover! Monet-inspired umbrellas!
Pekka, me, Pat and Miles enjoyed our coffee and hot chocolate in the garden of a cafe where Monet would often sit with friends
AHH...Giverny. Your lovely photos captured it well. It is such an incredible place.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you had a packed visit with Daniel and Sefi; lucky them to have you at the helm; the Paris mavens.