return to Giverny

I went back to Giverny with my parents and Max (he was disappointed to have missed it the first time around).

I discovered that the trains run very infrequently to Giverny on regular weekdays, so I called a private driver to find out how much he would charge to take us there. 300 euros! Eek! We decided we would take the train after all. We were planning on taking the 12:00 train, so we were going to run a couple of errands first. Just as we were walking out the door, the driver called me back and said his appointment for that day had canceled and he would take us there for 100 euros -- almost exactly what we would have paid for four train tickets.

It was delightful to go by car -- we saw so many things that you just can't see by train. My mom especially loved seeing the French countryside, so pastoral! so picturesque! I don't have photos, sadly, but we saw rolling fields of green wheat, a lovely cathedral, even a castle built in the 1700s that had a tower surviving from the middle ages.

Can you imagine this being the view from your bedroom window? (minus all the tourists milling about, of course!)

...or this being your bedroom window? I love all the ivy and the climbing roses.

There were a few more water lilies in bloom this time, although still not as many as during the summertime.

I love this plant! It has what appear to be the tiniest pea pods in the world, each one less than an inch long. Anyone know what it is? Would peas be planted in among the flowers?

Max pointed out this ladybug to me. He got quite a few photos of insects. I was quite taken with the unopened poppy pods.



I wonder how long this tree has been growing here? It has a massive trunk and I love how the moss is growing on it, with pansies at its feet.

It started to rain towards the end of our visit. Max didn't think he had need of the umbrella's shelter until he wanted to take some more photos. (It would be interesting to see the similarities and differences between the pictures that the four of us took...)

This was my third visit to Giverny, and I still found it to be enchanting. In the short time since I was there last, many things had changed. No more tulips -- they have been replaced with geraniums. The iris are at the end of their time, but the peonies and poppies are opening. The nasturtiums are just starting to appear, but not yet spilling onto the paths. It was wonderful, too, to drive home in the rain, surrounded by wet greenery, not in charge of driving, sleepy, nodding off...