The day started out with a trip to Giverny where Claude Monet lived for 43 years until his death
in 1926. The Maison et Jardein de Claude Monet (Claude Monet House and Gardens), his studio, and
lilly pond have been restored. The tour of the lilly pond was a great inspiration, and you can
understand what motivated Monet to capture the pond in several paintings. This is a picture
looking over the pond to a bridge where Virginia Ann is perched.
Another shot of Virginia Ann on the bridge - you have to look pretty close.
The famous lilly pond.
Another shot of the lilly pond.
Another short of the lilly pond.
And a finial picture of the lilly pond. It is straightforward to see why it was such an
inspiration.
Outside Monet's house is a very extensive garden that provided various settings for his
paintings.
The garden with the house visible in the background.
Another picture of the garden.
The museum workers were on strike so the big draws were all closed - the Louvre, Musee d'
Orsay... So we had to plan for other attractions in the afternoon. We decided to visit the Musee
Rodin housing the famous Thinker and The Kiss. Auguste Rodin lived from 1840-1917 and the Hotel
Biron is filled with his sculpture and pieces used as models for larger works. The garden is
filled with his works as well this is Cal standing at the Gates of Hell
Here is the famous Thinker. Nearly 500 works by Rodin are in the museum, demonstrating his ideas
dropping the traditional pyramid and pedestal construction. His figures are airy or merged with
the base. When Rodin died in 1917 France inherited the villa.
We took the subway to the Arc de Triomphe for a quick look. It is colossal - planned by Napoleon
to celebrate his military successes - it took 20 years past his death to complete. France's
Unknown Soldier is buried beneath the archway with a flame rekindled each evening.
From the Arc de Triomphe we took the subway to Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise, which is the largest of the
Parisian cemeteries. Magnificent tombs between cobbled paths and lush vegetation. We bought a map and
began to hunt for the famous graves - including Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison (the crowd was the clue), Ney, a
favorite Napoleon general, Chopin, and others. We hunted for a Virginia Ann favorite - Edith Piaf but
could not find the grave.
Dinner was aboard a boat traveling from the Eiffel Tower past Notre-Dame on the Seine. It was beautiful
and a delightful way to see the city.
