Paris: Day 3 Giverny and Le Comptoir

We woke up at 9:00 to meet our tour guide Antoine. He drove us to Giverny which is a small town, about an hour away from Paris made up of mostly artists. On the way there, our guide gave us a great deal of information involving the history of Giverny which involved Claude Monet and his family. At Giverny we were able to witness the French and Japanese gardens that Monet drew inspiration from as well as his house which was filled with his works and the Japanese prints that also inspired him. In the garden we saw the water lilies that he painted in Les Nympheas and other scenes which he painted in his paintings such as the rose arches.

His house was filled with vibrant colors such as the yellow in the kitchen and paintings of his own and other impressionists.  After visiting his house we walked to the church where Claude Monet was buried, and Antoine taught us about, how he began his career, and how he became an accomplished artist. We then walked around the small town, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the hills and rivers and then payed our respects to him at his grave. We left and once we had finally arrived in Paris (the drive is about an hour) we stopped by the arc de triomphe to take some pictures.

Once we arrived back at the apartment wen took a long nap and woke up just in time for dinner. For dinner, we went to eat at a restaurant called Le Comptoir du Relais which was recommended by the New York Times, but the restaurant was packed, so we had to wait for about an hour. While we were waiting we got to converse with some people that were originally American but lived in New Zealand. The wait was worth it, because the food was amazing. I had the daube boeuf (beef cheek stew) and Laura had the demi-poulet (baby chicken). The beef was very chewy and soft with the delicious pasta that accompanied it. The chicken had a soft texture as well and it was served with mashed potatoes on the side which complimented the soft texture of the chicken. Finally, we ended our day with a pot du chocolat for a dessert that tasted divine.