Travel Photos: Monet’s Gardens on Tour

EasyJet Holidays

What fun! Easy Jet liked our shot of that goat in the tree in Spain two Thursdays ago.! Thanks, guys.

Water Lilies in Monet's GardenNOTE: Read to the end to learn how you can see Monet’s gardens in New York, and a link to a video of Monet paintings.

Last week I showed you some of the reflections of people that we saw in places in Paris.  Today it is  photos of the reflections in a pool that launched a most famous series a paintings and a museum to hold them.

When you visit Giverny France it is easy to see why Claude Monet and other Impressionists painters saw the world the way that they saw it. When I am traveling, gardens are not usually high on my list–which is not to say I don’t enjoy the color and shapes they present. But a garden created as a work of art by one of my favorite artists is irresistible. As it is irresistible to take a picture of a willow tree drooping over a water lily pond.

Monet's lily pond
Reflections in Monet’s lily pond

Or frame a picture of lily pads with branches of the willow trees.

LIly Pads under a willow Tree in Monet's garden
LIly Pads under a willow Tree in Monet’s garden

 

Or to see the sky upside down the way the painter does in some of his Lily Pond paintings.

Monet's lily pond with clouds in water
Monet’s lily pond in Giverny France

 

And did you know that the Orangerie Museum, on the right bank of the Seine in Paris near the Tuilleries Gardens, was designed by Monet specifically to hold his Lily Pond series of paintings in this circular gallery?  And that he was losing his eyesight in his final days, which some experts believe accounts for his paintings moving more and more into the abstract. He painted what he saw, and it became increasingly blurry. The Orangerie holds many other fascinating paintings in addition to this special gallery, but I felt privileged to be in this breath-taking space designed by the artist himself.

Monet's Water Lillies at Orangerie
Monet’s Water Lillies at Orangerie in Paris

 

Monet's Water Lillies, the Orangerie
Around the circle, Monet’s Water Lillies, the Orangerie

 

I hope that you can see Giverny some time (an easy day trip north of Pairs). But if you can’t, here’s some exciting news. For a limited time (until October 21, 2012), you can see a reproduction of Monet’s gardens in  New York.  For two years, gardeners at the New York Botanical Gardens have been designing, gathering and growing the flowers, wildflowers, shrubs, and trees to recreate Monet’s garden in the U.S. The exhibit even includes a water lily pond. Please go to their website for a real treat, and perhaps even plan a trip to New York, if you can’t make it to Giverny, France. If you are a true Monet fan, an appreciator of flowers or just want to see more of Monet’s paintings, be sure to view this video from the New York Botanical Gardens website. Have small children? See this children’s book about Monet’s gardens in an article written by Mara Gorman.

These photos are part of Travel Photo Thursday, started and shepherded by Budget Traveler’s Sandbox.  You can see photos contributed by traveling photographers from around the world at Budget Traveler’s Sandbox. (All photos on this page are my property and I appreciate your not reproducing anything without permission. Thank you.)

Brette Sember is from the state of New York. Maybe her family will visit the Monet Gardens at the New York Botanical Gardens. Why am I thinking of Brette? In case you didn’t see it, she wrote the article below this one about a memoir of cooking and sailing in the Caribbean. Her piece includes a yummy lobster recipe.  Read on…..

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About Vera Marie Badertscher

A freelance writer who loves to travel. When she is not traveling she is reading about travel. When she is not reading or traveling, she is sharing with the readers of A Traveler's Library, or recreating her family's past at Ancestors In Aprons . She has written for Reel Life With Jane, Life is a Trip and other websites. Also co-author of a biography, Quincy Tahoma, The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist. Contact Vera Marie by e-mail.

10 thoughts on “Travel Photos: Monet’s Gardens on Tour

  1. Never new why Monet went into abstract….failing eyes makes sense.

    Extremely interesting.

    Thanks!

  2. You can feel Monet’s work at every step around his wonderful garden. What an inspiration it must be for artists. I loved every moment of the gardens and the whole NW area of France with the superb historic Bayeux Tapestry and stunning Mont St Michel castle.

  3. Beautiful, peaceful, serene…I want to go. Just incredible. Thanks for this post and the photos, and congrats on your recognition!

  4. Alas, on our first trip to Europe Giverny did not open until the day after we flew home. And while we were in Normandy for a week during 2006, Giverny seemed just a bit too far away for a day trip by car.

  5. Love the photos! Monet has always been my favourite artist and Giverny is someplace that I long to visit. I thought I was going to have my opportunity when we were in Paris this past March. We booked a private D-Day tour to Normandy and had the option of spending the afternoon somewhere else. Unfortunately, Monet’s gardens don’t open until April so we went to Bayeux to see the tapestry instead. One day I will be in France at the right time of year to visit Giverny and walk in the gardens where Monet painted.

    1. We also saw the Bayeux tapestries and would not want to have to choose between the two places. I thought the tapestries were fascinating.

  6. Giverny is one of the places in France that I would love to visit! Beautiful pictures. I’m looking into the NYC connection since I’ll be there this July!

    1. Debbie, while its wonderful to see Monet’s home and gardens and I hope you do some day, I hope you’ll take advantage of the NY copy,

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