On May 26th, my study abroad group and I traveled to Giverny, France to visit Claude Monet’s gardens and home. This was definitely my favorite part of the Flowers and Photography in Europe Maymester. Plants and art are two of my favorite things, so being able to see Monet’s gardens and home was all very exciting to me. His gardens were fascinating to me for multiple reasons. For one, his gardens look exactly the same as how he had them when he was alive. The gardeners at Monet’s garden use the same varieties of plants that he used (even down to where they source the plants from) and also plant them in the same exact design that Monet did. The way that Monet designed his gardens was so unique. They are very disorderly and all over the place, but in a way that is very pleasing to the eye. There is bamboo and fun pops of colors from flowers everywhere. French Impressionism is my favorite art movement, so I of course enjoy Monet’s art a lot since he is one of the most well known French Impressionist artists. While at his gardens, it was so cool to see the places where he painted so many of his paintings (including the bridge and pond where he painted his iconic painting The Water Lily Pond. I also loved visiting Monet’s house. It was so cool to see where one of my favorite artists lived. I also loved how his house was filled with his own original paintings. It was also cool to see his different styles of paintings because I was only familiar with his very soft and pastel painting style. Another reason that this was my favorite part of my study abroad is because I got to talk to the head of volunteer programs about being an intern. There is a paid internship opportunity at Claude Monet’s gardens where you get to stay in Giverny from April-November and work in his garden. As a horticulture major who loves art, this is right up my alley, so I hope that I get this internship opportunity.
