Lil update about Monet.

Journal 26 – April 2, 2007

Today is Passover and it makes me very homesick to think about the holiday and celebrations when I cannot be there with my family. It is exciting to do a Seder for my classes though. We sent home permission slips and passed it through the administration so tomorrow should be exciting.

We had a Monet weekend and I loved every second of it. We squeezed in the Eiffel Tower and Versailles, but the rest of our weekend was packed. We went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, and Venus De Milo. It is quite breathtaking, even the second time. We went to D’Orsay and I was surprised by the magnificent use of the building. The use of the space in the museum is very nice. It feels very open and airy. There were lions (statues) there and it reminded me of the Art Institute in Chicago. There were many Monet’s, Renoir’s, Van Gogh’s, and the list continues. We also went to Musée de l’Orangerie where Monet’s famous water lilies are displayed. They built two oval shaped rooms with benches in the middle. The size of the paintings are overwhelming when entering the room. It’s enough to just sit in the middle and imagine being at the ponds watching the sunset or observing the willow branches gently sway back and forth in the light summer’s breeze. But honestly, they’re gorgeous.

The Eiffel Tower was still there; I think I liked it more when I went with my daddy. We drove to a little town by Giverny and stayed in a château on the Marne River that was made by Leopold II. In the morning we were on our way to MONET’S GARDEN!! I am almost positive visiting his home was the most exciting part of my entire trip. Yes, his house is large, but there is nothing extravagant about it. There are paintings everywhere and it reminds me of my home and my mothers “decorating” skills of putting up works of art all over our house. The bedrooms are charming and quite livable. The dining room, my favorite room, is YELLOW with light blue trim. My two favorite colors! It was a lovely feeling just being in the dining room, and the dishes matched! The entire kitchen was blue, which was also nice and the tiles had a cute little design. There are Japanese prints and raku pottery all over the house as well.

The gardens were a whole other entity. They are huge (for a backyard.) Then you walk under a crosswalk and come out in Japan, or so it seems. There are European flowers, but the style is set up in an Asian way. The bridges also give it a feeling of Japan. Plants are purposely spaced out, and planted in places so there will always be something in bloom.

I desperately missed Katie at the gardens. We would always read Linnea in Monet’s Garden when we were little and Katie had the doll. (I had Madeline.) There were postcards, dolls, and the book for sale in the gift shop and I wish she could have been there with me. I know my time is almost over here and I will miss it very much, but I really miss my family and their love and support. It’ll be so nice to receive big hugs when I get home.

My dad said my mom made it home safely from Israel, so that makes me feel good too.