Bus tour today and we had to be at our meeting point by 8.15am so an early start, especially as we were allowing extra time to get there in case we got lost (always a possibility). We made it with heaps of time to spare which just gave us an excuse to try out another cafe. Not that we would ever be able to find any of these cafes again!
Bus from Paris to the Palace of Versailles took about 45 minutes and then 15 minutes later we were inside (the advantage of being part of a tour group). It is huge and totally over the top. Very interesting but really a monument to ostentatious wealth and absolute power. Or, as I like to say, showing off. Lunch in the cafe there not as expensive as I thought it might be and, again, very yummy.
Back on the bus at 2pm for the one hour drive to Giverny through some beautiful countryside. Saw the first evidence of WW2 - guide pointed out an old bridge blown up by the Nazis. Lucky there was a new bridge for the bus to get us over the river.
Monet's house and garden were delightful. Something built with love and cared for with love and shared with family and friends. It felt so peaceful after Versailles! Even though it's autumn here there was still lots of different things flowering in the garden. It would be amazing in spring but the crowds would mean you couldn't see much anyway so I think we visited at a good time. There were more works of art inside the house than you would see in a lot of art galleries. Most of them painted by Monet himself or one of his friends plus a lot of Japanese art which he collected.
After a 12 hour day we didn't make it out to dinner. We did have some fruit and a few pastries at our apartment so that was enough after such a big day.
