Giverny, Part 1

On Wednesday, a lovely morning with no rain, we set off for Giverny.  We got there well before opening time and lined up to purchase tickets.  We weren't too far back down the line so we got in at 9:30, opening time, but there were already several bus loads of tourists that had been ushered in another entrance.  Crowds, not for the faint of heart!  And it's only early June so I can only imagine what it must be like in the peak months.
One can buy several different entrance tickets and I purchased the one that allowed me into the gardens, the house and the Musee des Impressionismes.  It was the garden that interested me the most and a lot of the pictures I took were mostly for information.  Here are some of the 'prettier' ones:

 A general plan of the layout of the area, not necessarily the gardens (more later on that).

 There are lots of flower-lined paths to the side of the house in which Monet and his family (families?) lived.  One has to remember that this was actually someone's garden (well yes, Monet's) and to think of it that way.  Such an enormous paradise filled with inspiration for an artist, but what an undertaking!! And such a huge job to maintain today.

 I took several shots of the bower over the walkway.  I think I have a picture in a book at home of this same shot only covered with nasturtiums.

 Lots of lovely areas filled with flowers and the promise of many more to come.

 At first I thought that the gardeners had left clumps of leaves after clearing the beds but I suspect these were areas of flowers (bulbs, perhaps?) that had already bloomed and the leaves then left to die off  and nourish the bulbs below.

 This shot is from up by the house looking down.  You can see the large hedge that hides the roadway. I wonder if this might have been an actual hedge in Monet's time and was it used perhaps to delineate the garden?  Behind the hedge is a roadway that one now goes under to reach the water garden beyond.  (I'll save the water garden for my next post so you won't be too tired with all this walking!!)

 I suspect that the garden must be breathtaking at the height of summer but it was pretty spectacular even at this time of year.  The roses were lovely and fresh with their new blooms and a lovely sight to see.  I didn't particularly notice their scent however,  but perhaps it might not have been warm enough.  I wonder if, in Monet's time, there would have been more fragrance in the air.  Or, as a painter, did he care???  Surely he must have.  Isn't the fragrance one of those magical things that only enhances the visual experience?
I'll be back later with the water garden.
Today we are off to Paris, hopefully to get into the Musee d'Orsay, by car and train.  More lineups, more crowds.  More pictures of the trip.....I'll be back.