At the heart of the Impressionism

by Carolina Denise Noir (Argentina)

I didn't expect to find France

If there’s one thing I’m absolutely sure about, is that no one ever imagined that been inside a painting was posible. But after visiting Giverny I take that as a false statement. Even though it’s a small town, it helds one of the most famous gems of the impressionism: Le Fondation Claude Monet, best known as the house and gardens of Claude Monet. Yes, the same nenuphars and lake that he painted so many times can be visited and I asure you, it takes your breath away. Giverny is just 65 km away from Paris, which makes it a perfect place to spend a day . In 48 minutes from Gare Paris Saint Lazare, you can get to Vernon, the closest train station leading to Giverny, which is actually pretty as well and you can also appreciate some of Monet’s inspirations, like the Vieux-Moulin. But let's talk about our main attraction, the magical gardens of Claude Monet. So you first get into the giftshop of the house, which is awkward considering that you always do it at the end, but this places hides a Little secret: it was once the big atelier of the nenuphars, where he made and displayed the enormous nenuphars paintings. In it you can find all tipes of souvenirs from the artist and the impresionist movement as well. Once you start following the path leading to the gardens, you can’t really stop being amazed. Different types of flowers find their place depending the season you go. If you are lucky enough to go in summer, you will encounter an explosion of colours and smells thanks to the dahlias, gladiolus, carnations and sages, among many others. Hundreds of different types of flowers divided into two gardens, The Clos Normand and The Water Garden, get together into flowerbeds to create a unique and mixed landscape where Monet made his most famous paintings, representing the sunlight and the present moment more than a 100 years ago. The Water Garden, home of the Nenuphars, turned out to be one of my favourite places in the entire world, and I’m not exagerating, not a bit. The scene is outstanding, you have the feeling of being inside a painting. There’s always a gardener on a boat, taking care of the pond, as in Claude’s time: he cuts the leafs and the algaes to let the sun reach the nenuphars. Next to the Clos Normand Garden, you find the house of Claude which is as beautiful and amazing as the gardens. Its' obvious that he loved his house and believed in keeping it as nice as he could, for he spent a lot of time in it. Moreover, he was so meticulous that each room has a predominant color: blue for the Reading room which is also called “le petit salón bleu”, connecting to the epicery where the teas, spices, eggs and olive oil were kept in the suspended furnitures; yellow for the modern-for-the-time kitchen, where several japanese engravings from the seventeen and eighteen century, which are real masterpieces from Hokusai, Hiroshige and Utamaro and, of course, the missing-but-now-found porcelain cat of Monet, which was made in Japan, as a gift; and Brown for his bedroom, which by the way has an incredible view of his gardens and keeps faithful copies of his friend’s paintings, like Cézanne, Renoir, Signac and Caillebotte. The colours are so vivid that it’s almost like there’s a certain feeling in each room. As a fan of Monet, being there is more than just a simple visit to make a post on Instagram and make stories; I had an overwhelming feeling when I stepped into that place because exactly 129 years ago, he was in the same spot that I was, making history. I could understand how he did such beautiful pieces of art, as the place is surrounded with peace, calm, beauty and inspiration wherever you go; you want to discover every Little flower, tree, bud and bug that goes around; it’s almost as if you need to embrace this piece of paradise.