Giverny - again

I already posted about Monet's Giverny some six years ago (see here), but I had the privilege to return with my friend Christina Björk, who together with the illustrator Lena Andersson wrote a bestseller about the little girl Linnea who visited Paris and Giverny, accompanied by a friend of her family. The book “Linnea in Monet’s Garden” has been sold worldwide in millions of copies, has been filmed… . Here we can see Christina surrounded by sculptor friend Barbro Hedström and journalist and author friend Gunilla Boëthius.

Thanks to Christina we were received as VIPs!

So, again some pictures from Monet’s home, outside and inside…

… from the flower garden in front of the house, the “Clos Normand”…

… and from the water garden with its Japanese bridge, the nympheas (unfortunately hardly in bloom late September)…

Monet later added a larger studio (needed for his giant nymphea paintings), which now is the souvenir shop. Here we of course found Christina’s book for sale.

There is more to see in the charming little village and you can end up by visiting Monet’s family grave at the local cemetery.  

Giverny

Claude Monet lived at Giverny (some 80 km or 50 miles from Paris), as from the age of 43 to his death in 1926, at the age of 86. 

Giverny is a small village some 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Paris, close to the Seine River.

After seven years, Claude could in 1890 afford to buy his own house, with a large garden, to which he later added the “water lily garden”. Since1980, after important restoration, the house and the garden are open to public.

The place should be visited several times during the year, following the flower seasons. In April, when I made this visit, together with some blogger friends, the water lilies just started to appear.

Here are some examples of how Monet painted his own garden.