Paris in Seven Days: Monet's Garden and the Palace of Versailles

It’s day three of my Parisian adventure with my ten-year-old grandson, in case you are following along…and we will not be in Paris today! This is the most important day of our trip…the whole reason we came to France! Today we head to Giverny…to see Monet’s garden! You may remember that I promised my grandson this visit when he was five and became a big fan of Monet thanks to a wonderful art teacher! I have booked a minibus tour for this special day.

Even though the skies were overcast, the gardens did not disappoint! My grandson tried out his skills with his new camera…with results I will show you in a moment!

At last we get to see the water lilies! We had seen them on canvas when they made a stop in Atlanta almost exactly two years ago…but nothing compares to seeing Monet’s water garden in person…

…or seeing the Japanese bridge and its reflection…an impressionist painting even in real life!

Next, we head to the flower garden with its wonderful roses in full bloom…

…and get a little peek beyond those famous arches…

…at Monet’s wonderful pink house with the green shutters!

Then we walk to the other side of the little village to visit Monet’s grave…away from all of the tourists who do not seem to know that he is there, surrounded by his loving family. (Photo by my grandson)

We head back to the minibus and stop for lunch along the way…here, at Le Moulin de Fourges! Isn’t it charming? They say it was constructed by the builders of Marie Antoinette’s little hamlet at Versailles! One of the best things about the tour is that the guide/driver takes back roads through the French country side and little villages! I want my grandson to see that side of France, too…not just Paris!

We pass through Haute-Isle, where there is a Troglodyte village with homes carved into the rocks...and even a Troglodyte church that has been there since the 1600s!

Then we reach our next destination…the Palace of Versailles! The gilded gates, formerly admitting royalty into the courtyard, now admit tourists like us! (Photo by my grandson)
  Can you imagine magnificent carriages rolling across these cobblestones? (Photo by my grandson)

The highlight once inside the palace is, of course, the Hall of Mirrors! I have snitched this photo from the official site of the Palace of Versailles so that you can actually see it instead of a sea of tourists! I know my grandson will read about it in history one day and he can say that the has been there!

From the windows of the palace, we can see the magnificent gardens with the town of Versailles in the distance. It’s a strange contrast…this fabulous icon of French history sprouting up in the middle of a modern town! (Photo by my grandson)

And…we can see from the windows that the fountains are working today…something I have never seen before in my several trips to Versailles! Unfortunately, by the time we got to the gardens, the display was over. :-(  However, classical music was still playing…giving us a feeling that if we looked closely enough, we might see the Sun King himself..Louis XIV...and his entourage disappearing around the corner! What a wonderful day…one I will never forget…but then I seem to say that about each day of our adventure!
Missed any Paris posts?
Back from Paris…or...My Grandson’s Favorites!  Listing the must-see spots for a ten year old boy!
My Favorite Street in Paris…Rue Cler   Great little street to use as your headquarters 
In case you want to follow along, here is my plan for visiting Paris in seven days! I am linking each of the seven days as I complete the posts.
Day One…All about Eiffel! Eiffel Tower/ Champ de Mars park and play area
Day Two…Sightseeing by Subway! Arc de Triomphe/ Montmarte/ Sacré-Coeur
Day Three…Monsieur Monet, I Presume (and a lot of Louis)! Giverny/ Versailles minibus tour
Day Four…The Cradle of Paris! La Sainte Chapelle/ la Conciergerie/ Notre Dame/ Latin Quarter/ the book stalls/ ice cream on Ile St. Louis/ the bâteau mouche on the Seine
Day Five…Art Museum Madness…Plus Play in the Park! Louvre/ Tuileries Garden/ l’Orangerie/ Musée d’Orsay
Day Six…A Phantom, a Fountain and Some History! Opéra Garnier/ Pompidou Center/ Carnavalet Museum
Day Seven…A Tomb, a Tank and a Tower! Napoleon’s Tomb and the Musée de l’Armée at les Invalides/ Eiffel Tower at night
Thanks so much for stopping by! See you next time! A la prochaine!