No, that’s it, I know what I’ll do next time: I’ll sign up to be an extra in Emily in Paris!
Scene in season 4: Emily travels from Paris to Giverny, to the famous gardens of painter Claude Monet, looking for Camille. And there she is, searching through deserted paths, empty rooms with no visitors. Only a few “tourists” pass through the frame at one point in the movie. Well, I could have been one of them if I had gone to the casting for extras… I was such a fool. I could have seen Giverny empty. Instead, I saw it like this:
Giverny is a village in France, located in the Seine Valley, somewhere between Paris and Rouen.
Packed with people at lunchtime, when I arrived by car, after driving for one hour and 13 minutes from Paris Beauvais Airport. I slowly drive through narrow streets, among waves of tourists. I like what I see! But I’m about to face what I hate the most: finding a parking spot.
Any free spots? No way! I keep circling around the cars, hoping I’d get lucky and someone would leave. Others do, but not me… So I leave the parking lot near the Tourist Office and follow another parking sign. I end up in a small clearing, well, actually quite a large one, where you can park your car for free.
But it’s packed with cars here too… In the end, I squeeze mine onto the grass, just barely within the limits of what’s acceptable.
Like any respectable Romanian, I leave my phone number on the windshield 🙂 I don’t think this is a thing here, but hey, I’d rather be on the safe side.
Hidden among the trees, right in the clearing, lies the bust of the painter. I give it a nod and cross the road through an underground passage.
I follow the signs and, after a few minutes, I reach the line to Monet’s house. I join the queue, without asking “what are they selling?” But then it crosses my mind that maybe, since I have an online ticket, I should check if I’m in the right place, standing at the end of the line…
No, I wasn’t. With an online ticket, you go straight to the entrance of the manor.
I paid 11.50 euros for the ticket, and when you buy it online, you have to select the time you want to enter. I arrived about 45 minutes before the time on the ticket. I decided to try my luck: I presumed that if it wasn’t too crowded, they might let me in earlier than scheduled. They did. But still, it was crowded 🙂
GIVERNY
In 1883, Monet rented a house in the village with four rooms on the ground floor, four upstairs, two attics, and a barn that he turned into a studio.
In 1890, he managed to become the owner of this house, surrounded by a 96-are (9,600 sq.m.) garden, which was his home for 43 years, until his death in 1926!
I read that Monet was extremely attached to this place, to the house, the garden with its multitude of flowers and trees, the pond… He missed them whenever he was away.
The fact that today I can walk in his footsteps, enter his house, cross his famous bridge, or take a selfie with the water lily pond is thanks to one of his two sons, Michel Monet. He inherited the estate and the collections in the house and left them to the Fine Arts Academy in his will, which, since 1966, made great efforts to restore the beauty of the place and open it to the public in 1980.
CLAUDE MONET’S GARDENS
I look at the map, trying to plan my route, but I give up. They show you the direction to follow at the entrance anyway, so I just go with the crowd.
The small bamboo forest makes me feel like I’m in China, a few years ago. I half expect a panda to appear, happily munching on a trunk, even from the ones where some visitors have carved their love.
The stream flowing at the edge of the estate gives it an idyllic touch. You could sit here on a bench and write love poems…
The garden is divided into two parts: Clos Normand, an abundance of different flowers right in front of the house, and the Water Garden, bordered by oriental plants and weeping willows, with pink water lilies and crossed by the famous green-painted Japanese bridge.
If I had been an extra in Emily in Paris, that’s how I would have seen the bridge…
But the reality is this:
The bridge is always full of people, most of them stopping to take pictures in all directions, speaking in all languages, laughing, reminiscing.
And no, no one is rowing the boats.
They lie peacefully at the shore, giving a fairytale-like image to that corner of nature.
Walking around here, on the bridges, along the water, among the flowers, I feel like a character in Monet’s paintings…
The lake looks stunning on this summer day! You can hear birds chirping, even the breeze through all the plants here, despite the fact that it’s packed with people.
So many pictures are being taken! I’m not holding back either, haha.
Everything is so beautiful and so… natural, so effortless, that I almost feel like applying for a gardener job here!
Across the bridges, on the fences, along the paths to the house, by the lake, on the lake – there are flowers everywhere!
I catch a glimpse of the house through the arches, trees, and large flower bushes. Since I’m neither related to Monet nor Emily coming from Paris, I head towards it through the area open to regular visitors.
CLAUDE MONET’S HOUSE
Everything looks impeccable!
Apparently, the shutters and garden furniture are painted with the shade of green chosen by Monet himself. Pretty cool, right?
Emily in Giverny? Lucky her! There’s no one there, except for a few gardeners.
Dana in Giverny? Last in the long line to enter the house. And the suuunnnn is shining.
We’re all waiting for a few visitors to exit, so the security guard can let more of us in.
And I’m in!
The walls of the first room are covered with paintings! I recognize some, and others, I must admit, I don’t…
I ask if there are any originals in the house. I’m told that everything is out in the open, with no security measures, so it’s unlikely that any are originals. What was originally in this house is now in Paris, at the Marmottan Monet Museum. Not only Monet’s paintings, but also works by Renoir, Cézanne, Rodin, Manet, etc., which Monet had here in Giverny.
This view can be seen from one of the windows in Mr. Monet’s bedroom.
How could you not be inspired here??… You could spend your time painting, writing, philosophizing, or even video-calling your enemies 🙂
The walls are filled with paintings. But I also look at every element, every object in each room, trying to imagine Monet’s life in this house, together with his family. He must have been happy here!
The yellow room, the family’s dining room, is so cool. I understand that the yellow-painted furniture pieces were very modern for that time.
The walls here are covered with Japanese prints. Monet gathered an impressive collection!
Oh my, the kitchen, just the way it is, must be any Chef’s dream! Even I, terrible at cooking, feel like I could make all sorts of fancy dishes here…
I also came across this box mounted on the wall. Could it be some sort of ‘safe’ for fresh eggs?…
Before leaving the manor, I take one last walk around the lake, as if I want to fix the image of this wonderful place in my mind!
The bridges are a bit less crowded, but on the narrow paths, I still expect to hear: “avancez, avancez”.
SOUVENIRS
Of course, I couldn’t leave without stopping by the souvenir shop.
It’s basically a huge hall with all kinds of products featuring Monet’s paintings, albums about the Impressionists, and even a relaxation area in case you want to browse through a book.
I buy a few things and head out.
Outside, the line for those without tickets is a bit shorter.
The sun is higher in the sky, and although my phone says it’s 26 degrees, it feels hotter. Some people are already seeking shelter under umbrellas.
I take a walk through the village to see what’s around, but I don’t linger long because I need to head to Normandy, where my vacation really begins!
(Stories from Normandy – coming soon!)
