My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece. -Claude Monet

allo! ca va? spring is whizzing by isn’t it? it’s hard to believe may is almost over and we’ll be in full summer mode in just a few days, for me that means planning a trip to france and this year i’ll be going to a many places that i’ve been before but others that i have to admit that i haven’t. i thought i’d start to jot down some of the spots on the to-do list and see how it will unfold. the first on the list is Normandy, specifically Giverny where Claude Monet lived from 1883 until his death in 1926. there are so many gorgeous images out there it’s easy to see why he would devote his life to capturing these magnificent grounds it. i love this one above for its simplicity and sweetness: (Pink cosmos and golden sunflowers tower above Fifi, the calico cat who resides in Monet’s garden, as she strolls down a gravel path in the silver mist of dawn. Photograph by Elizabeth Murray c 1990. From a collection of postcards published by Pomegranate). people and pets have come and gone here but somehow this place has been perfectly preserved for all these years.

maybe it’s the voyeur in me but i love to visit homes of artists, writers and designers. the fact that the french keep these special places for us is truly one of the reasons i fell in love with france. 

if you want to learn more about it, this is a wonderful fondation that works tirelessly year round to keep the gardens and home in perfect condition.

you can actually take a virtual tour here: fondation-monet.com/visite-virtuelle. i’m sure seeing this magical place in person will be more incredible than i can imagine. apparently it was so exquisite that it was almost painful for Monet in a way that i’m sure only those who know the beauty of a garden or even a single flower can understand.

‘Every day I discover more and more beautiful things. It’s enough to drive one mad. I have such a desire to do everything, my head is bursting with it’.

May 29, 2018. art, Artists, Day Trips, Flowers, France, Gardening, Monet. 10 comments.