Giverny, France

Giverny, a small town a few hours west of Paris, is famously known as the home of Claude Monet, a French painter and founder of Impressionism. Iris had been wanting to visit the town to check out the museum, Monet’s house and his paintings, and especially the garden and the pond that inspired his Water Lilies series.

We originally planned to go there by train, but Maxe had another idea. Instead of heading to Paris for a food trip, she suggested driving to Giverny with Aalambek. I mean, why not? It’s more comfortable, there’s no rush—passenger princess mode. I’ll take that anytime. It’s nice to have rich friends, isn’t it? 😛

The museum was nice—no queues and not overcrowded. However, it was a completely different story at Monet’s house. We waited almost two hours in line just to buy tickets. Then another queue to get inside the house. Want souvenirs? Another queue. Toilet? Yessir! — another queue.

On the other hand, the paintings are really impressive. I’m now convinced that this Claude Monet guy knew what he was doing. The garden is beautiful, and the pond is peaceful—well, at least if you imagine there were no people around. The place wouldn’t be bad for working remotely, assuming there was high-speed internet, because the network signal there is quite weak. As for food, there aren’t many options available.

Overall, it was a well-spent Saturday with friends, learning about Claude Monet’s life. There are so many small villages in France worth visiting—but first, we need to learn how to drive. >.<