Day 9 - Sunday September 9 - Part 1

Giverney!!!! A bucket list destination for me and to sit on a bench in the Japanese garden by the lily pond was very moving.

A bit of grumbling by some as we had to be on the buses by 8:30 to head the short distance from where we were moored in Vernon to Giverney. By the time we drove there and walked to the group entrance of the gardens it was just before the 9 AM opening time. Our group was first in line to get in and we headed to the Japanese garden. As one of the program directors joked later we had the garden to ourselves for 8 minutes and 42 seconds before being invaded by others.

I think (hope) the pictures will speak for themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then after spending a good 45-60 minutes in the Japanese garden it was time to move over into the Norman garden, more of a typical French garden. Also, so filled with other tour groups that it was difficult to move around. Our group was not tied to a person giving commentary, we could wander where we wanted. Other tours had these clots of people which made getting by difficult.

I just kept moving, taking pictures of the flowers, and trying to keep the people out of the picture. In some cases doubling back to get pics after the clot moved along.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 People do still live on the property, so they have chickens. A nice touch of living being, not just flowers. Then the lineup to get inside the house. It wasn't bad, they only let in 5-8 people at a time to reduce congestion.

The re-creation of his studio with so many reproductions of his famous paintings and much color in many of the rooms.

After a tour into the gift shop, you have to at least walk through to get out of the place! I did purchase a few items, could have bought a whole lot more!

Then stopped in a nearby cafe and chatted with some of my fellow travelers, then back to the bus. On the way there, a clueless woman was so intent on her phone she nearly walked into a car backing out of a parking spot! 

 Back on the bus and parked next to a Viking tour bus, they seem to invest in having everything branded in their name. Our buses were just hired locally, so extra money into the local economy.