24th September (Day 15)
Lily pads and impressionism abounds
What a treat we think we are in for today – we are off to Giverny where Monet painted his famous series of the lily ponds. We’ll get to look at the house where he stayed and the famous garden where he painted those famous images countless times.
Before that we wake to lovely sunshine in contrast to yesterday’s awful weather – only to find when we stop for lunch Hilma’s Gazole cap is missing. Yet another thing to sort out on our travels. That’s the one thing about motor-homing, if you haven’t yet got one you do have to think that sometimes things will go wrong and be prepared to mend and make do for a little while. After all it’s like carrying your home on your back and things go wrong at home as well. Gaffa tape is always a must have item when travelling – it can patch something quickly until you are able to fix it properly – so Hilma’s Gazole hole is now gaffa taped over. I need to sort something before the ferry back as it might be frowned upon if some official spots it before embarking.
Janette has been yearning to go to Giverny for a few years now and as we are now only a few km’s away we will get over there and take a peep. Well what a peep it turned out to be, I’m not sure I can turn such a spectacle into a literary picture for you.
I can say however that we were spellbound by the variety of colours in the garden and the house full of paintings (mostly copies) from some of the the most prolific and famous artists of the impressionist period. The gardens were a riot of colour and when we arrived at the lily ponds – well, breathtaking with the weeping willows trailing over the ponds just like in his paintings. A very peaceful place at this time of year (I can’t imagine how crowded it might be in July & August).

Soaking up the atmosphere we continued to the Museum of Impressionism, a few minutes walk, where there was an exhibition of the neo-impressionist artist Henri-Edmund Cross who settled on the shores of the Mediterranean and used the light in the region to good effect in his work. Not an artist I had heard of before but well worth a ‘Google’ if you get the time.

We left Giverny contented and once again feeling like we did at Aubusson, there is more enrichment in life when there is an appreciation of the arts. Onward to our overnight stop which was another ‘France Passion’ one night stay at Surcy (close to Giverny) in a farmyard. A warm welcome from the old lady whose son ran the farm and he was still out in the fields.
The nights are getting colder now and Hilma’s windows are steamy in the morning sun.