The gardens of Giverny

I hopped on yet another train to Vernon, and from there, headed out to Giverny by tourist bus. The busses meet the train, and also timed to get back to the train just in time so that everyone can board. Where I live does't have trains, so I think it's a bit stressful to catch trains - in larger centres, the track that the train is on often isn't posted until just a few minutes before the train leaves, and I'm always afraid that I'm going to get on the wrong track or catch a train going in the wrong direction.

Giverny is home to the house where Monet painted, and his house and back garden are open to the public. The house was beautiful, but the gardens were spectacular - just what you think of when you imagine a Monet painting. Giverny is also home to the Impressionist Museum which had a Monet exhibition open for the summer. I didn't manage to make it to many of the museums which had Monet paintings in Paris, so I was glad that someone had arranged to transport them to Giverny for me.

When I got back, I spent the next day visiting two of the smaller museums in Paris - the Marmottan, which houses a huge collection of Monet paintings, as well as other impressionist painters, and the Cluny Museum, also known as the Museum of the Middle Age, themes of Cluny. The Cluny Museum has the famous Cluny tapestries of the "Lady and the Unicorn" displayed. I'd visited both museums on recommendations, and would definitley go back again - the museums were smaller than some of the better known museums, but without the line-ups and the crowds of other places.