Monet’s Garden

Twenty years ago my husband, daughter and I took a trip to Europe with my sister and her family. We started in Edinburgh, where we strolled along the Royal Mile and visited the castle. We had to stop at a woolen shop to stock up on hats, scarves and gloves since we were all so cold! From there we went to York where we enjoyed the Shambles and other famous sites. London was our next stop where we saw museums, Notting Hill, the changing of the guards and stayed at a sketchy hotel where there was a mouse in one of our rooms; our nieces named it Sven.

After London we headed to Paris via the Eurostar. While in France we visited the Loire Valley and Monet’s Garden, as well as sites in Paris. We had a fabulous time and still reminisce about our vacation together. Just as a side note, the photos below come from snapshots, so the quality isn’t very good. This was before the age of digital photography; or at least before I had a digital camera.

One of the highlights for me was Monet’s Garden and home in Giverny. The home, studio and gardens are absolutely amazing to see. It was mid-April when we visited and the garden was bursting with color. We saw weeping willows around the pond, colorful vines climbing on trellises, the famous water lilies, and a wide variety of flowers, plants, shrubs and trees.

My daughter was a youngster at the time and had read a book called Linnea in Monet’s Garden; a delightful story about a little girl who visits the garden with a friend. Just like on the cover of the book, she wanted her photo taken on the Japanese bridge.

We also visited Château de Chambord in the Loire Valley. It was a beautiful day and my husband and daughter rented a row boat while my sister and I did some wine tasting. It was a warm and busy day at the castle, so I was pleased when I was able to get a photo of my daughter sitting in front of the castle with no one around.

One of my nieces who also enjoyed this vacation is an amazing photographer; check out her website here. My husband is a travel sketcher, you’ll find his website here. I hope to visit Monet’s Garden again someday, it is a beautiful and tranquil place to see.

Check out my other blog posts about Normandy and the Loire Valley.

Loire Valley Sites

Mont Saint Michel, France

Have you visited any of the places I mentioned in this blog post? If so, please leave a comment, I would love to hear from you.

Wishing you grand adventures, when it’s safe to travel again,

Tricia