Hi everyone!
If you don't like flowers I would suggest not reading the blog today, because all the photos are going to be of flowers! But after the beautiful flowers I saw today, I don't see how anyone wouldn't like them!!
This morning Troy and I split up for the day. He set off to do the main things in Paris (Louvre etc), but seeing as I saw them four years ago and still remember them very well I left to go somewhere I've wanted to see for a very long time - Giverny and Monet's Garden.
I walked to the Gare St Lazare which took about 25 minutes. It was amazing because all you could smell was bread being baked - I took lots of deep breaths to soak it all up! It was raining though which was annoying, and it continued to for the whole day. But I can't complain, I've been very lucky in that regard.
No one at the station ticket office spoke English but when I said "Monet?" they knew where I wanted to go and gave me my ticket. It cost me $45 Aussie return - yikes! - but i did the same as Bayeux and hadn't realised I had already paid for the hostel, so had some room to move in my budget.
The train took 45 minutes and there were signs from the platform to the shuttle bus so it was super easy. Got the shuttle bus for about 10 minutes and then walked to Monet's House and Garden. It was unclear where the entrance was but me, a Canadian girl and a Danish girl found it eventually!
As most of you should know, Claude Monet is a famous artist and is considered an impressionist painter. I've always loved Impressionism and Monet thanks to Mum taking me to lots of exhibitions when I was little at NGV (and more recently in June 2013 when a Monet exhibition was on!). Monet was born in 1840 and in 1883 he moved to Giverny where he bought his house and garden, later extending and buying the secondary garden across the road as well.
I spent the next few hours wandering around the garden. Firstly I headed to the Japanese bridge because I had arrived just after the place opened and figured later on there would be lots of people. I have a copy of a painting by Monet in my cupboard at home for when I have a house one day (don't hold your breath Mum and Dad, sorry!) and it's of this bridge. It was so beautiful! It may have been raining but I think it added to the beauty of the place. The flowers were all covered in raindrops and all you could hear was the pitter patter of rain and birds chirping.
I continued into the main garden which - like the Japanese bridge garden - had thousands of beautiful flowers of all different shapes, types and colours. It was stunning! By 11am I had already taken 100 photos (oops) and I just couldn't help myself - everywhere you looked was so pretty. I particularly liked how there were grids of flower beds and all the colours alternated - you'll see in the photos!
I also had a look through Monet's house. It was furnished as if he were still living there, and his studio and bedroom (where he passed away 26 December 1926) were restored in 2013 using photos he had taken so it felt like he was still living there! There were even works by other artists on display like Manet, Renoir and Cezanne. Even though I took a lot of photos today I made sure to walk the garden twice and take everything in, and I took my time in the house. Everyone passing me took 2 photos and kept going. Too many people do that these days, more worried about their selfie sticks and capturing a moment than actually living it. Kind of sad really! Oh well, at least I'm not one of them.
I went back out into the garden and really wanted a photo with the house but I was alone. I asked an Asian couple to take my photo, and I definitely picked the right people! All too often you ask for a photo with something and people completely stuff it up. The lady today took about 6 photos of me and got such nice ones with me, the tulips and the house. After she had taken my photo about 6 times she wanted a photo with me! So I said yes because she had done such a good job!!
I did another lap of the garden and was still discovering flowers I hadn't seen on the previous times. So much colour and beauty!! Then I headed back out into the town. There were historic information points scattered about so I followed them. I saw cute little streets and buildings and the church (Sainte Radegonde) and graveyard where Monet is buried as well as Gerald and Florence Van der Kemp who were the two responsible for the opening of the house and gardens to the public in 1980. There was also a memorial commemorating seven soldiers who died here when a plane crashed during WWII. Everyone I passed on my walk looked me in the eyes and said 'bonjour' - a very friendly town!
The information points helped me to learn a little about the town. A lot of impressionist painters (Cezanne for example) moved here but many left during WWI, especially American ones. Locals opened their homes during the war to house injured soldiers, and other locals such as Monet donated fruit and vegetables from their gardens to feed them. I came across the path along the former Gisors-Vernon Railway that was hit by a bomb in WWII and gradually disappeared over time. Originally my plan was to walk from Vernon (the station the train went to) to here but due to the rain I got the bus and just walked the section around Giverny. It was peaceful and leafy, really nice. There was a paddock along the way that had emus in it - random!!
I went and did something most unusual for me after this - I took myself out for lunch! Went to a self serve place and had a bowl of vegetable soup and a sandwich which had eggplant, cucumber and a few other things in it. It was yummmm! Then I walked back to the bus station and ran into the Canadian girl again. We got the bus and train back to Paris together and then said our goodbyes. Turns out she lives in London - in Ontario, Canada!!
Now I'm back at the room getting some things done and tonight Troy and I are going to the Moulin Rouge! I'm very excited. It's my last night of being a tourist so it'll be a good way to end this part of the trip! I'll post tomorrow before I head back to london.
GO PIES! Will be thinking of my family at the footy tomorrow. Hope we smash Carlton and Mick loses it ;)
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Eiffel Tower and Versailles
Hi all!
I've had the best last 24 hours! After we got back from our room yesterday we had a bit of a chill and then went downstairs to be picked up for our dinner cruise. Rod (our guide) had left by this point because his itinerary was wrong so he didn't know we had the cruise. So he left it to Miss G to organise us meeting! We met the driver after giving him a call and were taken to our boat.
The boat was really nice! Glass sides and roof, and we enjoyed a really lovely evening on the Seine. We had a yummy three course meal with vegetables (my old friends! Haven't seen them in a while!!), steak and mash and an apricot thing for dessert. We also got lots of bread and wine.
We sailed past the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, D'Orsay, Place de la Concorde, Notre Dame and lots more. On the bus on the way back everyone had had a bit too much wine and we all had lots of fun making jokes about Rod (in a nice way - we all liked him!) by mocking things he said like getting his rights and lefts confused. I laughed so much I nearly wet myself haha. Trevor gave a speech on the bus which was so lovely. He has a limp and thanked us all for our patience with him, but it was really no trouble. I'm just happy he's still able to travel and see the world!!
We got inside and took a group photo and then had a couple of drinks. Ken and Bob ran an awards ceremony, and I won the 'Best on Ground' award for always keeping everyone up to date on footy scores and having the most photographed bum on tour (I had a bad habit of being in Ken's photos accidentally!!!). We all agreed our group was one of the best we've all been a part of. It was a great ten days of learning about the war and honouring our fallen, but also of making good friends and having a laugh. Definitely an experience I won't forget!
By the time I got back to the room and got some things done for England it was 1.30am by the time I went to sleep!!
Up at 6.50am this morning (yuuuuck) and Troy and I bolted down some brekky before heading to the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 world fair and was meant to be temporary. Most locals here hate it but as well as being the most popular tourist attraction in the world it's also a communications tower that has 120 antennae, enabling 41 TV channels and 32 radio stations to be broadcast to Paris. All throughout high school I dreamed of coming here and then did straight after year 12, and it's so strange to be back! Everything is so familiar and I can still remember where everything is throughout the city.
We went for a walk through the gardens there which was really nice because we were so early that no one else was around! We then queued for a while and were the first people climbing the stairs up - winning at the tourist game! It was well worth going early.
We climbed to the first and then the second level where we enjoyed the view before getting the second ticket for the lift to the top (no stairs or else we would've climbed the whole way!). We got to the top and it was just as I remembered it - great views but crowded! I'm so lucky to be able to say I've been up there three times now. Twice last time (once in the day once at night) and now today. And today (like last time!) was sunny and clear. We looked at the small apartment Eiffel built at the top and then at how far away all the cities were on the boards - some of which I went to at the start of my trip - then headed back down. Had a strange thought as we walked away like I suppose I did last time - wondering what I'll be like and what my life will be like when (or if) I'm here again.
We then got the train to Versailles, the RER station we needed was right near the tower! We walked to the palace easily enough. Tourist buses evvvvvvvverywhere! Last time I was here I went to the palace but due to snow the gardens and other buildings were all closed. I also didn't like the palace much because due to garden closures there were SO many people pushing past that you couldn't enjoy it. Unfortunately today was still a little like that!!
Versailles was built as a hunting lodge by Louis XIII and the town became the French capital when Louis XIV moved his court there. It was ransacked and the furniture taken by revolutionaries in 1789.
There were people everywhere but we had our audio guides and enjoyed the rooms including some filled with paintings, then the state rooms including the hall of mirrors (very fitting seeing as the Treaty of Versailles was signed there and we just ended our war tour!) and some other rooms. By the end of walking around pushing through rude tourists we were both very keen for the gardens!!! You can see why the revolution happened though. The royals were living it up in here with so many lavish rooms they didn't know what to do, meanwhile people were starving and living in the streets. It's so over the top in there, beautiful but excessive!
Then we spent the next three hours walking through the gardens. I was so disappointed last time when they were closed, and it was fantastic today to walk through them. They were worth the wait! Absolutely MASSIVE! We saw the Petit Trianon Palace and the Grand Trianon Palace built as summer retreats and then Marie Antoinette's estate and gardens. The grand canal, fountains and flowers were all lovely. Then we had an ice cream on the walk back - we had earned it after so much walking!!
Got a last photo up near the palace in the sun and then headed back to the station. We grabbed our bags from the tour hotel (the very swanky Novotel) and got the train to our hostel near Gare du Nord. It was stressful and I felt very vulnerable with all my bags. But we met a nice English girl who helped us with our things. We have our own room in the hostel and it's so nice!
I've had the best last 24 hours! After we got back from our room yesterday we had a bit of a chill and then went downstairs to be picked up for our dinner cruise. Rod (our guide) had left by this point because his itinerary was wrong so he didn't know we had the cruise. So he left it to Miss G to organise us meeting! We met the driver after giving him a call and were taken to our boat.
The boat was really nice! Glass sides and roof, and we enjoyed a really lovely evening on the Seine. We had a yummy three course meal with vegetables (my old friends! Haven't seen them in a while!!), steak and mash and an apricot thing for dessert. We also got lots of bread and wine.
We sailed past the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, D'Orsay, Place de la Concorde, Notre Dame and lots more. On the bus on the way back everyone had had a bit too much wine and we all had lots of fun making jokes about Rod (in a nice way - we all liked him!) by mocking things he said like getting his rights and lefts confused. I laughed so much I nearly wet myself haha. Trevor gave a speech on the bus which was so lovely. He has a limp and thanked us all for our patience with him, but it was really no trouble. I'm just happy he's still able to travel and see the world!!
We got inside and took a group photo and then had a couple of drinks. Ken and Bob ran an awards ceremony, and I won the 'Best on Ground' award for always keeping everyone up to date on footy scores and having the most photographed bum on tour (I had a bad habit of being in Ken's photos accidentally!!!). We all agreed our group was one of the best we've all been a part of. It was a great ten days of learning about the war and honouring our fallen, but also of making good friends and having a laugh. Definitely an experience I won't forget!
By the time I got back to the room and got some things done for England it was 1.30am by the time I went to sleep!!
Up at 6.50am this morning (yuuuuck) and Troy and I bolted down some brekky before heading to the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 world fair and was meant to be temporary. Most locals here hate it but as well as being the most popular tourist attraction in the world it's also a communications tower that has 120 antennae, enabling 41 TV channels and 32 radio stations to be broadcast to Paris. All throughout high school I dreamed of coming here and then did straight after year 12, and it's so strange to be back! Everything is so familiar and I can still remember where everything is throughout the city.
We went for a walk through the gardens there which was really nice because we were so early that no one else was around! We then queued for a while and were the first people climbing the stairs up - winning at the tourist game! It was well worth going early.
We climbed to the first and then the second level where we enjoyed the view before getting the second ticket for the lift to the top (no stairs or else we would've climbed the whole way!). We got to the top and it was just as I remembered it - great views but crowded! I'm so lucky to be able to say I've been up there three times now. Twice last time (once in the day once at night) and now today. And today (like last time!) was sunny and clear. We looked at the small apartment Eiffel built at the top and then at how far away all the cities were on the boards - some of which I went to at the start of my trip - then headed back down. Had a strange thought as we walked away like I suppose I did last time - wondering what I'll be like and what my life will be like when (or if) I'm here again.
We then got the train to Versailles, the RER station we needed was right near the tower! We walked to the palace easily enough. Tourist buses evvvvvvvverywhere! Last time I was here I went to the palace but due to snow the gardens and other buildings were all closed. I also didn't like the palace much because due to garden closures there were SO many people pushing past that you couldn't enjoy it. Unfortunately today was still a little like that!!
Versailles was built as a hunting lodge by Louis XIII and the town became the French capital when Louis XIV moved his court there. It was ransacked and the furniture taken by revolutionaries in 1789.
There were people everywhere but we had our audio guides and enjoyed the rooms including some filled with paintings, then the state rooms including the hall of mirrors (very fitting seeing as the Treaty of Versailles was signed there and we just ended our war tour!) and some other rooms. By the end of walking around pushing through rude tourists we were both very keen for the gardens!!! You can see why the revolution happened though. The royals were living it up in here with so many lavish rooms they didn't know what to do, meanwhile people were starving and living in the streets. It's so over the top in there, beautiful but excessive!
Then we spent the next three hours walking through the gardens. I was so disappointed last time when they were closed, and it was fantastic today to walk through them. They were worth the wait! Absolutely MASSIVE! We saw the Petit Trianon Palace and the Grand Trianon Palace built as summer retreats and then Marie Antoinette's estate and gardens. The grand canal, fountains and flowers were all lovely. Then we had an ice cream on the walk back - we had earned it after so much walking!!
Got a last photo up near the palace in the sun and then headed back to the station. We grabbed our bags from the tour hotel (the very swanky Novotel) and got the train to our hostel near Gare du Nord. It was stressful and I felt very vulnerable with all my bags. But we met a nice English girl who helped us with our things. We have our own room in the hostel and it's so nice!
I am a little stressed though. I have a job interview Tuesday and just found out rather than being asked questions I have to plan and teach a 30 minute lesson. I've no resources over here and haven't been given much information so I'm pretty terrified. In good news though I might possibly have a flat viewing Saturday. Watch this space...
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
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