As an avid art fan, I was super excited to get the chance to go to Claude Monet’s house and gardens in Giverny. Giverny is a small countryside town in Normandy, France. Giverny is famous for its rolling countryside hills and impressionist art history, which was a great change of scenery from the busy streets of Paris. Monet’s estate is covered with sprawling gardens and the famous water lily garden. Walking through the gardens, I recognized several areas that inspired some of Monet’s most famous pieces. Monet’s house was filled with a ton of his artwork and sketchbooks. My favorite place was the water lily garden and green bridge that inspired Monet’s most famous painting.
After returning to Paris from Giverny, I decided to climb the Towers of Notre Dame. 387 stair steps later, I finally reached the top. I instantly recognized the amazing view of Paris and stone gargoyles from the classic Disney movie, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”. This view was one of the best views of Paris, and I could see for miles. After climbing down from the tours, I stood at the famous Point Zero marker, which is the direct center location of Paris.
Since I have been living in Paris for the past month, something I have noticed is that Paris prides itself in being a very eco-friendly city. One of my favorite aspects of this is that almost all retail stores and grocery markets do not offer bags and expect customers to bring and reuse their own bags. I love this green idea and it is something unique to Parisian life.
Ciao!
-Alissa Smith