Gardens of Inspiration

The Norman garden with Monet's house in the back

Today was one of my highlights of the France trip so far -- a visit to Claude Monet's house in Giverny.

We traveled from Bayeux to Giverny and it took about three hours to get there by coach.

The gorgeous waterlily pond is so picturesque!

Our guide explained that the artist saw the small town from the train and decided to rent a house here in 1883. He became successful with selling his impressionist paintings and was able to buy the house seven years later.

At the time he and his second wife Alice moved here with their eight children -- two from Monet's previous marriage with Camille who died in her 30s and then the six with Alice.

He lived at this house until his death in 1926 and afterwards the estate eventually was given to the state by Fondation Claude Monet. And thank goodness for the foundation for allowing us to have a glimpse into Monet's life and see what he saw when he painted his famous waterlily paintings.

A beautiful yellow dahlia flower in the garden

Monet plowed a lot of his money into the house, buying more land around the house and creating gardens. He gave meticulous instructions to his gardeners, complete with drawings -- of course -- to create two gardens, the Japanese garden and the Norman garden. He even diverted the small stream nearby to keep his pond full of water to grow the waterlilies.

We saw the Japanese one first that was completed in 1893 and it was just like his paintings, lots of bamboo in the back, waterlilies in the pond, a small Japanese bridge in green, wisteria trees nearby, lots of roses, Japanese maple trees, flowers in various pastel colours from pink to mauve, purple and lots and lots of green.

Gorgeous roses wrap around arches leading to the house

It's no wonder his garden was such a wonderful source of inspiration for him!

Next was the Norman garden and again so many different flowers and trees, like roses, sunflowers, lilies, daisies, poppies, dahlias, tulips, forget-me-nots, and lavender. Eventually they led to a pink house with green trim, Monet's house.

Inside we were directed into the sitting room filled with Japanese block prints from the 18th and 19th centuries by Kitagawa Utamaro and Katsushika Hokusai -- Monet was very fond of things Japanese -- followed by a study filled with replicas, including those by Renoir and Bonnard.

The bright yellow kitchen that seats 10 people

Then we went up a narrow staircase to Monet's bedroom, the one in which he died, which overlooks the Norman garden. The white bed is surrounded by paintings and black and white photographs, while Alice's bedroom is more floral in terms of the wallpaper and bed cover.

We were unable to see the childrens' rooms, but back downstairs the kitchen is a wonderful creamy yellow colour, complemented with a rustic red and white tiled floor. The large space fit a table with 10 chairs, a fireplace with more Japanese prints, a mixture of Oriental and Western rustic ceramics, and a massive black stove decorated with a blue and white tiled backsplash.

A bust and picture of Monet in the study filled with paintings

Interestingly the gift shop, which is in another small building is actually Monet's studio. In it there were lots of souvenirs to buy and I snagged a copy of a colouring book of the garden. Adult colouring books are the "in" things these days, a way for people to de-stress! Now I have to get some colouring pencils...

Remembering the War Dead in Normandy

Imagine the US Rangers who scaled the cliffs as the Germans shot at them

This morning we were the first tour group to arrive at the museum to see the famous Bayeux tapestry.

A lively recounting of history in the Bayeux tapestry

When I was in high school I learned about it, but didn't quite understand the significance of it until I finally saw it up close. The museum has a fantastic audio guide that gave a lively narration about what was happening in each scene.

The tapestry is 68.3 metres long, 50cm high with 58 scenes in it embroidered on linen using wool thread that was dyed using natural ingredients -- woad, madder and weld.

The scenes basically recount the story of William the Conqueror's rise to power. In 1064, King Edward the Confessor had no heirs and ordered Harold Godwinson, earl of Essex and the most powerful noble in England and William's brother-in-law, to tell William (then the duke of Normandy) that he would be the next king.

Edward made Harold pledge that he would be William's subject when the latter became king. However, when Edward died, Harold went back on his word and challenged William for the throne.

Delicious-looking produce at the farmers' market

The tapestry shows the preparation for battle very interesting, with master craftsman chopping trees down, and they are made into planks to build ships. They give an insight into ship archeology at the time.

Then the battle scenes are shown and there are lots soldiers in chain mail armour riding on horses, charging towards Harold's army that don't seem as prepared. There's lots of bloodshed -- though there isn't actual blood depicted, there are lots of corpses on the ground, some beheaded, and broken weapons.

Halley's comet is also embroidered into the tapestry, like a giant star with a large tail trailing behind it, and is seen as an ominous sign that Harold will fall in defeat.

Some of the over 9,000 grave stones in the cemetery

Some believe the tapestry is pro-Norman, presenting William as a good king compared to Harold. William also had a tough time getting control of his subjects, particularly in England, though he did implement some good initiatives like the use of currency, French instead of Latin, and built the Tower of London.

However, he also compiled the Doomsday Book, where he had an inventory of all the lands the crown owned in England as a means for taxation. A copy of the book was presented to Bayeux when Prince Charles and Princess Diana visited in 1987.

A reflective memorial for the dead

The tapestry had had its own colourful history. In the Middle Ages it was stored in Bayeux cathedral, which was burned down twice. Then in 1792 the tapestry was used as a tarpaulin to cover a load of weapons leaving Bayeux for Paris. Luckily a captain saved it and put it in his office for safe keeping.

But then in 1794 the tapestry was almost cut into pieces and was instead protected. In the 19th century, several pieces and threads disappeared; one fragment was returned from England and no one knows how it ended up there.

At lunchtime we visited Sainte Mere Eglise, where there is a church where an American paratrooper parachuted and landed on the church steeple, but was caught by the Germans.

In front of the church is a small square and we were lucky to be there when a farmers' market was set up. Stands sold cooked food, or fresh vegetables and fruits, cheese, calvados and cider, and even seafood.

The graceful statue at the US memorial

After lunch it was all about D-Day, June 6, 1944.

At Pointe du Hoc, we saw the cliffs where American soldiers had the task of scaling the cliffs in the hopes of confiscating artillery the Germans had there. We saw footage of them climbing up mobile ladders, and once one soldier was shot by the Germans, another US soldier climbed up.

There were 225 of them, only 90 made it up to the top. And when they did, they found out the Germans had already moved everything out of the area -- that their mission was for nothing.

We saw the bunkers the Germans had, and some of the ones dug out of the ground have grass grown over and now they are managed by a herd of lambs who live out there as natural grass cutters.

Then we went to Omaha, where over 9,000 American soldiers are buried at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.

A statue of the Canadian soldiers at Juno Beach

It is managed by the American Battle Monuments Commission and the property is beautiful, sad, serene and patriotic. Seeing the thousands of white marble crosses is overwhelming, and they are complemented with a thoughtful memorial, complete with a a 22-foot high statue, "The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves".

Most poignant was the film tracing the lives of five soldiers who died from the invasion, how they were brimming with enthusiasm, and some felt it was their duty to serve their country. Others didn't seem to give the impression they knew they would be close to death -- or they at least didn't want their family to know that.

Looking out at Juno Beach where the soldiers landed

Our tour didn't go to Juno, where 359 Canadian soldiers died landing on the beach on D-Day as part of the Allied forces, but a few of us arranged a taxi to get there. At first we visited Gold, where British soldiers landed on the beach there, and then we went to Juno.

There is a small museum called Juno Beach Centre, and we arrived just as the place closed for the day. It obviously paled in comparison to the American memorial; at the Canadian one there were several strange-looking kiosks where blue plaques had the names and positions of people who died. Some of the others were sponsored by Canadian cities and provinces, as many were given by donation.

Nevertheless, the memorial was low-key -- isn't that Canadian? And we went down to the beach for a few pictures and I picked up a few shells as souvenirs.

A quiet memorial in front of the beach

Although we came a day after Canada Day, it was a poignant way to remember those who sacrificed their lives (45,000 during World War II) for us to live in peace today.

Mont St Michel: Realizing a Vision

Mont St Michel on top of the rock with the small town below

This morning we set off early from Tours to get to Mont St Michel, a cathedral on top of a rock that is quite an impressive sight.

The (headless!) archangel burns a hole in Aubert's head...

The story goes in 708, Aubert, the Bishop of Avranches, had a dream that Archangel Michael told him to build a sanctuary. Aubert woke up and dismissed the dream, so the next night Archangel Michael came again to remind him of this project.

Aubert woke up on the third day and ignored the message from St Michel, so on that evening, the archangel got his message across by burning a hole in the skull of Aubert's head.

The moral of the story is not to disobey an archangel!

By the 10th century there was a series of simple buildings on the island, and by the 11th and 12th centuries, the buildings were built higher. By the 17th to 18th centuries flying buttresses were added to the cathedral, and homes were built at the bottom of the rock.

Looking out to see the very low tide around the island

Benedictine monks lived in the abbey, praying several times a day from 4am to sunset. They mostly read and meditated, and had meals in silence in the refectory where they could not eat meat from animals with four legs. As a result, they ate things like chicken, fish, vegetables and fruits, and washed it down with cider and wine.

During the Hundred Years War Mont St Michel was an example of military architecture, and following the French Revolution there were no more monks left and the building was turned into a prison. It was recognized as a Unesco world heritage site in 1979.

The beautiful chapel at the altar

When we arrived it was low tide -- very low -- we saw people out on the sandy banks, maybe some school students to study marine life. But if you're not familiar with the area it could be dangerous as some areas have quick sand.

Our tour bus could not go to the bottom of the rock because these large vehicles were deemed to cause an environmental impact on the area so we had to take a special shuttle that operated irregularly, but it was only a few minutes' ride.

For 9 euros, we saw a number of rooms in the abbey, the refectory as mentioned earlier, the gorgeous cathedral with very high vaulted ceilings that is currently being renovated, the guests' hall where royalty and nobility were received complete with massive fireplaces.

At the bottom of the abbey are numerous cafes and shops that line the streets, reminding me of my visit to Jiufen near Taipei, but much cleaner!

Joan of Arc helped drive the English out

The famous gourmet specialty here is the omelette at La Mere Poulard. The story goes she and her husband opened a hotel on Mont St Michel and served thick omelettes from her copper frying pan. The cost these days? 35 euros...

The brand La Mere Poulard also sells cookies. We bought some but will try them later. For dinner at our hotel in Bayeux, we tried a large slice of quiche Lorraine, and for dessert tarte tartin.