ABC Wednesday—W is for "water lilies"

And not just any old water lilies. Apparently, 
I timed my visit to Giverny last July to see Monet's 
flowers blooming pretty much as they were 
when he painted them. 

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Pink Saturday

. . . and here they are
(see yesterday's post).

[To see more Pink Saturday posts, go here.]

the bamboo wood

Apparently, this is the little boat 
that Monet rowed out in to 
capture his water lilies in all their glory. 
(stay tuned . . .)

[Linking back to Weekend Reflections and
to The Weekend in Black and White.]

Weekend Reflections

Monet filled his house in Giverny with art—
even the bathrooms have paintings on
the walls.  I don't recognize the large work at
left [now I know it's also a Cézanne], 
but I do see a couple of Cézanne's still 
lifes reflected in the mirror.

[To see more Weekend Reflections, visit James's meme.]

Chez Monet

"I am following nature without being able
to grasp her. . . . I perhaps owe
having become a painter to flowers."
—Claude Monet

[To see more flowers from around the world, go here.]

roadside flowers

 If you go to Giverny at this time of year,
you don't even have to step into
Monet's gardens (though you definitely should!)
to enjoy a profusion of bloom.

[Linking back to Monday Mellow Yellows.]

Church of Sainte Radegonde

This little church is in Giverny
(Monet's grave is in the churchyard).
I'd never heard of this saint (aka Radegund),
who was a 6th-century queen of the Franks.
And I'm not sure what she did to
warrant sainthood—other than leave her
husband and found a monastery (and 
she got him to pay for it). Actually, I don't 
know about sainthood, but that probably 
deserves some kind of prize.


[Linking back to inSPIREd Sunday
and to Shadow Shot Sunday.]

Thursday Challenge—"place"

Here's my new favorite: Monet's
beautiful home and garden, in Giverny. Can't
believe it took me so long to to visit this
well-preserved and well-run place.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo
Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

Today's Flowers

This is one (and surely not the last) of the
many, many pictures I took in Monsieur Monet's
gorgeous gardens in Giverny.  They're a riot of color,
form, and fragrance—the place to go for the
best kind of sensory overload ever!

[To see more flowers from around the world, go here.]