GETTING THERE

Almost musical. Weeping willow branches reach
downward in a decrescendo at Giverny. 

I hadn't realized what a big deal learning to drive was until my own sweet-sixteen Franco-American hybrid teenagers were behind the wheel. Suddenly the legal age to have a learner's permit seemed far too young, even if the kids had grown up with priority on the right. "Relax," my sister reasoned with me, "they can see better than we do and have quicker reflexes." 


So, to rack up some of the 3,000 kilometers required of young learners in the French conduite accompagnée program, we'd pile into the car to make pèlerinages to Monet's gardens at Giverny, an hour's drive away--for maman to walk, pray and unwind. 


Atmosphere, atmosphere
Claude Monet (1840-1926) said, "For me, a landscape does not exist in its own right, since its appearance changes at each instant; but the surrounding atmosphere brings it to life--the light and the air which vary continually. For me, it is only the surrounding atmosphere which gives subjects their true value."
"Pour moi, un paysage n'existe pas dans son propre droit, puisque son apparence change à chaque instant, mais l'atmosphère environnante qui'l apporte à la vie--la lumière et l'air qui varient sans cesse. Pour moi, ce n'est que l'atmosphère environnante qui donne des sujets à leur juste valeur."

Vocabulary
conduite accompagnée:  accompanied driving for learners 16 to 18 years-old; apprentice drivers must be accompanied by a designated adult licensed driver
un pèlerinage:  a pilgrimage
un paysage:  a landscape
maman:  mamma
un saule pleureur:  a weeping willow


Text & photo ©2011 P.B. Lecron

FLOATING LIGHT

Early spring at Giverny

Lily pads and morning reflections at Giverny in early spring.

In 1899 Claude Monet began painting his water lily series, some of the most loved and well-known works of the 2Oth century. He continued to paint them until the end of his life:

"J'ai mis du temps à comprendre mes nymphéas... Je les cultivais sans songer à les peindre... Un paysage ne vous imprègne pas en un jour... Et puis, tout d'un coup, j'ai eu la révélation des féeries de mon étang. J'ai pris ma palette. Depuis ce temps, je n'ai guèrre eu d'autre modèle." -- Claude Monet


"It took me time to understand my water lilies... I planted them without ever thinking of painting them... A landscape doesn't pervade your spirit in one day... And then, all of sudden, I discovered the enchanting visions in my pond. I picked up my palette, and since then, I have hardly painted anything else." -- Claude Monet

"Je veux peindre l'air dans lequel se trouve le pont, la maison, le bateau. La beauté de l'air où ils sont, et ce n'est rien d'autre que l'impossible."-- Claude Monet

"I want to paint the air that's around the bridge, the house, the boat. The beauty of the air where they are, and it is nothing other than the impossible." -- Claude Monet

Monet's kitchen door.

Tulipier or tulip tree on the grounds.

For more information, opening, hours and history, go to http://www.fondation-monet.fr/uk/

Text & photos ©2011 P.B. Lecron

CHICKEN RUN, GIVERNY STYLE by P.B.Lecron

Although the coq has never been chosen as an official symbol of France, it is one by default, and has been used as such since the creation of Gaule and the fall of the Roman Empire. It results from a jeu de mot:  in Latin gallus is the word for both cock and the inhabitants of Gaule.

The poulailler or chicken run at Claude Monet's house and gardens at Giverny may well  be the nicest in all of France.

Vocabulary
un coq:  a cock, rooster
le coq gaulois:  the young French cock and emblem of the French fighting spirit
coquet, -ette:  appearance conscious or clothes conscious; smart, stylish, flirtatious 
une girouette:  a weather cock or vane
déplumer:  to pluck
se déplumer:  to mould, to lose its feathers (bird); to go bald, to lose one's hair
"Cocorico!":  imitation of the rooster crow; exclamation--often ironic--of French patriotism
un jeu de mots: a play on words

If you liked this, then click here for another photo and post about Giverny chickens.

Text & photos ©2011 P.B. Lecron