Inspiration In and Out of the City of Paris

 

Paris has been an amazing experience thus far. The city is truly alive with the bustle of people in and out of the metro, the chatter from cafes that grows louder at night, and the live music in jazz clubs and on street corners. Although the new sounds, tastes, and sights of Paris have been a feast for the senses, sometimes the hustle of city life can be overwhelming or tiring. Luckily, there are many nearby cities easily accessible for day trips out of the city. In this blog, I’ll share with you a day trip my classmates and I took to Giverny, France. Giverny France is a small, more rural area about an hour outside of Paris. It is also home to Claude Monet's garden and “Maison,” or house.

Once we wrangled our group together we easily found tickets for the train to Giverny on trainline.com which makes booking quick and easy. And, the tickets round trip were only 16 euros! After making it on board we sat in the air-conditioned train and watched as the architecture evolved from skyscraper to apartment building to single-family home to farmhouse. 

We quickly arrived at our destination “Vernon-Giverny” and exited the station out to the small city square. Just across the street were bikes for rent. The bikes made the 3-mile trip to Monet’s garden a quick 25 min ride. There were also two shuttle options; one of which was a cute little train with open seating. In my opinion, the bike ride there was the highlight of the trip. Laughter was contagious as we tried to follow the narrow streets out of the small town and over the bridge toward Giverny. The bridge soared over a big body of cool blue water. It was hard to believe that the water we saw there came from the same Seine as back in Paris. This water seemed fresher, brighter, and more inviting. We saw many sun tanners, jest skiers, and swans enjoying the water as we biked past.   

Closer to our destination, the wheat fields opened up into large sunflower fields. Their stalks stood taller than me and the flowers were the size of dinner plates. We paused to admire and, of course, take the obligatory Instagram photo. Before we could bike on, my friend shouted “Kangaroo!” At first, I thought I must have heard that wrong. But sure enough, in the adjacent farm hopped 2 kangaroos and their baby joey. The scene was surreal: a French mountain range in the background, the seine nearby, the flower fields, and….kangaroos. 

The excitement from our last stop pumped our pedals until we finally reached the “Fondation Claude Monet,” a small village dedicated to preserving the origins of Claude Monet's work. While waiting in line (do buy tickets ahead of time) we cooled down by devouring some “glace de maison,” or homemade ice cream. Although we had already enjoyed a morning full of adventure, surprise, and breathtaking nature, we were about to enter the main event, Monet's garden! After entering, we were immediately greeted with rows upon rows of flowers. Sunset dragon snaps, marmalade daisies, and dreamy dog roses. The great green facade of Monet’s Maison accented the garden and invited visitors to learn more about Monet’s private life. Inside, paintings covered every wall. Some works were his own, some famous, some more obscure, but the majority of the art was Asian, an inspirational art form that inspired his garden and infamous “Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge.” I was even able to walk that same bridge, the one in his painting. I stood on the bridge and admired the pond, the history, and the beauty of it all. 

If you are in Paris, I strongly encourage you to not be afraid to leave the city! Go out, explore, and relax. Giverny is a beautiful choice but there are many others too: Boulogne-Billancourt, Loire Valley, Versailles, and Normandy to name a few.

Je te souhaite un bon voyage! 

À bientôt,

Soleil