Chef Monet's House and Garden in Giverny | 大厨莫奈的故居和水园

The water-lily pond at Chichu Art Museum in yesterday's Naoshima post reminds me of Claude Monet's original garden.

I visited his famous Giverny home on a sunny summer day years ago, but due to a failed hard drive, I lost all of my camera photos from that trip. Most photographs of the incredible garden and the charming artistic village of Giverny had vanished. What I'm sharing now are all of the phone shots from that day that I could find.

Claude Monet, the renowned Impressionist painter, was born in Paris in 1840 and moved to Giverny, a small village on the Seine River in Normandy, in 1883. He moved in with his partner, Alice Hoschedé, and their respective children and began to renovate and design the property.

Monet's expansive garden is divided into two sections: a flower garden called Clos Normand in front of the house and a water garden on the other side of the road. Monet's collection of Japanese prints inspired the world-famous water-lily pond and wooden bridge. There are many of the prints on display in his house.

It's a shame I can't show you my closeup photos from the water garden. The shimmering reflections of trees, plants, and flowers in the pond were truly mesmerising in the sunlight.

Aside from his great impressionist painting and garden design skills, Monet is also an excellent cook. :) His neat kitchen, complete with all kinds of utensils, demonstrates this. In the shop of Chichu Art Museum, I even found honey biscuits and raspberry jam based on the recipes left by Claude Monet.

Monet's house and garden gradually deteriorated after his death in 1926. They were eventually restored thanks to the wealthy American patron Walter Annenberg's generous donations.

The picturesque Giverny village, which is filled with lovely art galleries and shops, is also worth a visit. I walked around the entire village during the golden hour before sunset, taking numerous photos with my camera. But, once again, I can only find one phone shot of the village from that day, the last image of the Hotel Baudy, which you can see at the end of my post.

There is also an Impressionist Museum nearby. I strongly advise you to spend a day in Giverny, visiting Monet's beautifully restored home as well as the village. You will understand how Monet created those amazing impressionist artworks and why this magical place continues to draw visitors.:)