Monet at Giverny (or the most famous waterlilies in the world!)

Chances are if you've seen any impressionist painting at all it would be Claude Monet's Les Nymphéas (the waterlilies). We saw the original tableau at l'Orangerie museum in Paris, so therefore it was necessary to see the place where it all began - Monet's home and garden in Giverny, northeast of Paris. The house was very interesting, because everything was left intact as it was when Monet died in 1827. There were none of his original paintings as they are all in museums or in private collections, but all of his furnishings remain in the original placements. Needless to say, no photos were allowed. The house and garden are owned by the Monet Foundation and copyright and droits de l'auteur are very much at issue.

The garden was spectacular, but of course, everyone heads to the Japanese garden where the waterlillies float delicately in the stream over which the famous bridge spans. It was near impossible to get a picture of that famous scene without a tourist or two in the image, but with my super-duper zoom digital camera, I did pretty well. After the barrage of picture taking, it was important to just stop, take it all in and realize where I was. Sometimes when visiting places, museums and monuments, it's easy to get caught up in the rush of it all, to get it done and fight the crowds instead of thinking: "Wow look where I am".