Day 13 in Paris: Claude Monet's House in Giverny

In Buddhism the lotus flower symbolizes the potential growth of the mind. Like the lotus that grows from the mud and then lies pristinely above the water, the mind could also arise from selfishness, materialism and anger and work towards empathy, selflessness and kindness.
Similar to the lotus is the water lily, which happens to be the subject of one of my favorite painting collections by Monet. Cathie and I went to his house in Giverny to see firsthand the inspiration for his famous paintings.


Before we went in Monet's house, we stopped by a neighboring bed and breakfast to say hi to an alpaca (or baby llama?)




The alpaca is friends with an ostrich and potbellied pig!


Monet's garden was bursting with pink, yellow, red and purple colored flowers.






Monet's pink and green house.








Monet probably painted from one of the two Japanese bridges. The walls in his house are covered with Japanese block prints. He probably had an Asian fetish.




We were one of the few young people at the house.


The view from the second floor of the house.




My parents would have loved this garden. I'm sure my dad would have picked the flowers and put them in his pocket so he could replant them at home. (He's a bit ghetto like that.)


I could see why Monet created his most brilliant yet simple masterpieces in this garden. The place is so peaceful.