Day Five - Monet's House and Gardens

This was my first day traveling in France by myself with about 20 - 30 words of French. As I was driving I had to stop and take a picture of this cemetery. Most of the graves were from the early 1900's or late 1800s. This was just along the side of the road in the French countryside.


Out of all the things I had found to do in the surrounding towns of Gournay en Bray I HAD to see Monet's house and gardens. It was so beautiful. I definitely recommend this day trip. Everything was preserved and although you couldn't take pictures inside his house, pictures wouldn't describe the colors and feeling of a legendary artist's home. The rooms were a pastel green, yellow or blue with trim painted five shades darker in the same color. Somehow it all worked. He also had his canvases hanging from ceiling to floor in his living room.

It is said that Monet thought his greatest work were his gardens, not his paintings. I think the verdict's still out.
Look familiar? Footbridge with lillies?

At the far corner of the house's main gardens there was a little stairway. The stairway went down two flights of stairs to a pathway around two ponds. The ponds were gorgeous. Surrounded by thousands of blooms, bamboo groves and weeping willows. It smelled great too.

I also walked up the street to where he was buried. He was buried next to a small chapel near his parents and I think his wife.

All in all it was a fantastic day!