Giverny to Normandy

Dad got our rental car and he maneuvered our family through the tunnels of Paris towards the country with only a few minor mishaps. Driving in Paris is not for the faint of heart.  We stopped in Giverny, the home of Claude Monet and his famous gardens that inspired so much of his work.  We enjoyed exploring his gardens and seeing the way that the reflections in his man-made-ponds truly are as much of the beauty as the nature itself.  Something that was interesting to contemplate was the concept that he created twice - once in his garden as he planned his subjects, and again in his painting of them.  It was insightful to tour his home and see his study where he entertained and displayed many paintings.

View across Claude Monet's water garden

Capturing the colors and reflections so common in Monet's paintings

Monet's famous Japanese bridge with hanging wisterias

Dad & kids on Monet's bridge

G in Monet's Clos Normand garden next to his house

Monet's incredible study with artwork and natural light

We enjoyed the change of scenery in the country with the fields of wildflowers and the little villages with castles and beautiful stone buildings.  We arrived at our cottage and the kids were thrilled to see that we had a yard for the next week while we stayed in the Normandy area.  The cottage was fun as it had a thatched roof and was built 200 years ago.  We were also pampered with a fireplace, blankets, washer and dryer, and a grill!  Our vision is that the remainder of our time in France is a bit slower paced and that we can begin to process all that we’ve experienced these last 10 months in a deeper way.  We laughed hard as when we got there SJ saw a plate of what looked like cookies and immediately went to take a bite only to find out they were fake plastic! (In her defense they did look very real). 

We then went to the local supermarket and in addition to buying some comfort foods purchased a couple of candles, puzzles and PlayDoh, which were all luxuries that would be easy to transport as we don't fly for a couple of more weeks.

Typical street in the French countryside on our way to Normandy

Thatched cottage that's our 'home' for the week in Normandy.
The plants at the peak of the roof use their roots to hold all of the thatched reeds together!