31 Days of Traveling to Europe: Day 16

31 Days of Traveling to Europe: Day 16 - Giverny and Versailles

The gardens at Giverny

Today we boarded a bus for a day trip to Giverny and Versailles. Giverny, the home and gardens of Claude Monet were beautiful. It was like his paintings were coming to life.

This was Monet's view out of his living room window. No wonder he was inspired to create such wonderful art.

I felt relief to see this plant in such a beautiful garden. It is polk and it is the bane of my existence in my yard but I'm now going to look at it as a reminder of Giverny.

We had lunch at a charming restaurant in a renovated mill.

Next it was on to Versailles. I cannot believe this place was a home.

I've since re-watch Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette" and it was like visiting Versailles all over again. This feeling has happened to me several times when watching tv shows and movies set in places I saw in my travels. It brings such a big smile to my face.

Once we returned to Paris, we found a cafe and sat outside and had some dinner. I tried steak tartare - it was different than I thought it would be but where better to try something new than in Paris!

Giverny and Versailles were wonderful and after being in the rain and chill of London, it was really wonderful to be in the sunshine of France. But even if it had been rainy and chilly, both places would have been amazing destinations.

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