I woke up the next morning, put on my birthday shoes (which look exactly like my regular shoes btw) and walked over to chez Whit to meet her and Daniela, my road trip buddies to Giverny! And what road trip girls we were. Complete with us shouting "road trip," stopping for snacks, rocking out to "You're the one that I Want," and shouting "Giverny!!" in unison as we passed the first road sign for the village.
So, you know how Monet painted these?:
The inspiration for the water lillies series was his garden in Giverny. And that is where we spent the day on Sunday. You know I am a sucker for collective energy. For me, there is no better place than somewhere with a lot of other people appreciating the beauty all around you. So of course I loved Giverny. Even, or maybe especially, under the rain everything was magnificent. We walked the paths that Monet walked, laughed together in this garden that it must have taken loads of people to cultivate. We snapped shots of lillies, hulking trees, weeping willows, colorful orchids, and each other.
We took a little visit of Monet's house. Looked out his bedroom window into his garden. I especially loved his blue kitchen. Blue plaid curtains, awesome stove, and a whole wall of hanging pots, pans, spatulas. And even better than that, a kitchen all decked out in yellow!
We ate overpriced cheese dishes that none of us enjoyed (who knew my favorite of all cheeses is gross when warm?). We drank coffee and juice. We smiled with the flowers when the sun came out.
I am so glad that the rain didn't stop us from going, because raindrops on flowers can be as lovely as the flowers themselves.
May I always have birthdays that are shared with amazing friends, in inspiring places.
All photos are the master photography of Whitney. My battery was being weird.
1 comment:
Did you swipe a lillypad? If not you better go back and get one--like a piece of the Berlin Wall. Glad to hear Monet had a nice kitchen.
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