Good Morning.

I always forget how beautiful the sun looks this early in the morning.

avec l'amour,
*jenna*

It's True What They Say...

Nice is nice.

Plus plus tard...

avec l'amour,
*jenna*

I Said "Huhhh?"

A strange moment in jenna history. New York. In Paris.

I know Lady Liberty is une française to begin with, but it's still strange to see my past, and my future, crashing into my present.

Probably the same way I'll feel one week from now when I'm at work.

avec l'amour,
*jenna*

Poubelle

Such a pretty word, and lovely sign, for such a dirty item (trash can).

avec l'amour,
*jenna*

Silhouette

avec l'amour,
*jenna*

Giverny

Today I fulfilled a dream, the dream of my 19-year-old self, to visit the home & garden of Claude Monet at Giverny. The art of Monet moves me in a way that almost no other art does. And I don't know why... I'm not a fan of landscape art or florally-based themes, but something about the scale and stroke of Monet has always affected me.

When I got on the train, I attempted to verify with the lovely older ladies sitting beside me whether we were in the 2nd class car. They both looked at me blankly and one of them said, "Um, anglais?" I laughed and said that I was American. They were from Ireland and we got along fabulously en route to Giverny. I saw them several times during my day.



When we got to Giverny, I looked toward the shuttle bus to la maison de Monet, and it appeared to be a sardine can full of Americans. I know I'm a hypocrite for saying so, but I dreaded mounting that bus. So when I saw this sign I was, of course, delighted, as the day was 70 degrees and sunny.



After somehow finding my way on bicycle (inner compass yeah!), I arrived at the house and instantly the gardens overwhelmed and absorbed me.






Planning on walking the gardens for a bit, I didn't expect to see the Japanese footbridge right away. And yet, I turned a bend and all of a sudden, there it arose before me.


My breath caught in my throat and I experienced the same kind of feeling I got when I first saw the Eiffel Tower, or every time I catch sight of the Empire State Building from a plane or bridge: the familiarity of a dream, come to life, tactile and real before me.



Exploring the ponds, it's easy to see how Monsieur Claude was inspired to paint what he did, how he did.




















... And then I was yelled at by a security guard for taking photos in the house.

After Monet, I was hungry so I fetched my bike and decided to forgo the "Hot Dogs! Hamburgers!" sign at the restaurant juste en face and do a little exploring.



I ended up at La Terrasse, with a table in the sun beside a lavender bush all to myself.





After a long, long, long lunch, I slowly rode my bike through Giverny and back toward the station at Vernon, enjoying the sun upon my face, gathering freckles.




I really, really want to stay in this B&B next time I'm in France.


Along the path, I stopped a woman walking to ask her to take my photo. Once in a great while I toss my "oh no, I'm not a tourist, not me" attitude out the window and ask someone for this favor. But always in French. She was extremely kind and even complimented my accent (ha!) as we chatted on the side of the road for ten minutes or so.



(here was a road where I got just the tiniest bit lost when going to la maison de Monet)





Back to return my bike with a clean 20 minutes left to have a Coca Lite and write in my journal.


An incredible, beyond-words beautiful day. The kind of day that should force you to close your eyes, let the sun soak through your lids as you daydream... except my daydream was right in front of me.

avec l'amour,
*jenna*