After the tour ended, Kristi and I stayed an extra day in France. In the morning, we went on a half day tour to Giverny, the home and gardens of Claude Monet. Giverny is more beautiful than I imagined; the gardens were in full bloom and I felt like I was inside one of Monet’s paintings. We saw the Japanese Gardens first, then we went across the street to his other garden. Monet loved nature and preferred to paint the outdoors, especially his gardens. He once said, “I don’t know if I am a gardener who paints, or a painter who gardens”…he loved both equally as much.

Monet died in the early 20th century. He had two sons, but his sons did not have any children. His line died out with his youngest son in the late 1960s. This son donated the house and gardens to the French Institute and they opened it up for tourists.