Monet's Garden

Ever since I was younger, I wanted to live in a countryside cottage. I would paint and draw and tend to what I imagine would have been a very large vegetable patch and herb garden. This fanciful country life was inspired by Beatrix Potter, the Cook and the Chef and various English country shows my mother was interested in. It has still managed to still remain relevant - and I have found myself invoking little country aspects into theorised future homes (hello, bay view window). 

Visiting Monet's Garden has long been a dream of mine. First introduced to his paintings at the ripe young age of ten, his hay stacks and his water lilies have stuck with me. Oh, and who could forget the Japanese bridge? I was gleeful when visiting the collection in Melbourne 2013 and again at the Musee D'Orsay. When Jason and I planned our trip to France it was only natural that Giverny, Vernon was top of the list, so much so that we actually scrapped our tickets to Nice due to time constraints...

I had to see the beautiful garden that provided Monet so much inspiration. Where he raised his children and escaped from the world, where he found solace and created the paintings that let the world escape reality. We caught the train to Vernon. It was just outside the station that we found ourselves a small cafe that doubled as a bike rental and breakfast jaunt. Hiring two bikes, we began the ride to Giverny across pebbled roads, up hills and on bridges over the Seine. 

We wove through the French countryside and fields of yellow - even passing a cow or two. Some several kilometres later, we reached the garden and chained up our bikes.

Although we had been smart enough to purchase tickets to skip the queue online, we weren't too observant to find the actual door to go through with our online tickets. I recommend hunting down that door, or at least asking a person who worked there to assist you in finding it, as we found ourselves standing in a line for something we already had. 

We were in soon enough however, a brief interlude in the museum and we were outside again, but on the other side of the stone wall, among the real floral action. The trip had worked out nicely, there is no better time than the Parisian Spring to visit Monet's home. Even the wisteria over the Japanese Bridge were in full bloom, the buzzing of bees in the cool air drowned out by the excited couples and families walking across the bridge. 

After lunch, we set off on our bikes again to make the beautiful ride home. No maps were required, just following the path and the street signs. Unfortunately for me, among the chirping birds and the sound of wind lapping against my hair, I heard the distinct 'thud, thud, thud' of a flat tyre. My flat tyre. It was here that Jason and I resulted in taking turns pushing the bike back three something kilometres to the little cafe we hired it from. 

Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise as we had the opportunity to slow down and soak everything in. We did miss our train by a few minutes, but it left us with extra time to explore the town of Vernon and its boulangeries (another pain au chocolat was purchased) and its antique and vintage stores. 

Monet's garden is splendid, full of colour, scents and whimsy. I'm certain these photographs speak for themselves. If you are a Monet fan like me, or have somewhat of a green thumb, a trip to Vernon and Giverny shouldn't be missed, especially as the journey there provides you with a little glimpse of the French countryside and an escape from the city a mere forty-five minutes away. Just remember when renting bikes, check that your bike tyres don't have a hole in them!

Tips

• Give yourself at least half a day to three quarters of it just to get there, visit and come back. Don't forget to have a little lunch and go for a wander in the country side. The surrounds are equally as lovely as Monet's not so humble abode.
• The gardens are only open from April to November. 
• The train you need from Paris is the Paris Gare St-Lazare to Vernon (approximately forty-five minutes). Take the bus from the train station or ride a bike to the grounds.
• Purchase tickets online and as mentioned previously, find that door and skip the queues.

Paris Travel Guide: Sweets

Paris is the home of sweets. Deciding on which patisserie to go to is just as difficult as deciding on which attraction to visit. There is no denying that anything and everything in Paris is carefully constructed with finesse and ease - you can't go wrong anywhere you go, however each place has their specialties and their signature options and it does take a little while to navigate yourself around the best that is on offer. Just make sure your tastebuds and stomach are ready.

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Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki

For beautifully made, delicate and delicious morsels of flavour, you can't go past Sadaharu Aoki. Born in Japan but trained in both Paris and Tokyo, Sadaharu Aoki's skill and heritage are displayed in every treat in his patisseries. The only problem is then choosing which to eat out of the many amazing cakes, pastries, chocolates and macarons and then trying to convince yourself that you've bought it to eat, not just to admire! Notable selections include: Ginza (pictured), Tarte caramele sale, Citron praline, Matcha azuki, Tarte yuzu and any, if not all, macarons. 

Dalloyao

Since dazzling the Court of Versailles until the French revolution, Dalloyao has been dazzling the French with its gastronomic delights. It's most famous pastry is the Opera cake - cake and biscuit soaked in coffee syrup, layered with butter cream and topped with chocolate ganache. Layer upon layer of chocolate guiltiness.

Angelina

Angelina is as famous for its hot chocolate as it is for it's signature Mont blanc, a ball of meringue and fromage blanc (soft cream cheese), covered in whipped cream and chestnut imple. The Millefeuille vanille is also just as good, with thin sweet pastry cracking and crumbling when your spoon submerges itself in the vanilla cream.

Pierre Herme

It is said that you 'haven't done Paris if you haven't visited Pierre Herme', demigod pastry chef and king of macarons. His macarons are a cacophony of colours and flavours and are so sought after that Galleries Lafayette have three boutique stores set up throughout the shopping gallery. Each mouthful is a balance of interesting flavours with sometimes two or three combinations.

Les soeurs sucrees

Maybe I'm swayed because I visited this bakery/patisserie almost every day in Paris, but I wouldn't go back if their pain au chocolat, meringues and baguettes were not as good as they were. The pain au chocolat is reason enough to re-visit. Light, buttery and filled with just enough chocolate, these were our go-to. Everything is handmade fresh that morning.

L'Eclair de Genie

Who am I to ignore possibly the most incredible and interesting eclairs Paris has to offer? Eclairs have certainly been brought back, with copy-cat stores trying to reach that level of simplistic elegance L'Eclair de Genie is all about. I am not usually one for eclairs but these are by far an exception. Flavour combinations include pistachio and orange, passionfruit and raspberry and yuzu, cassis, and salted caramel praline. The flavours are unreal and a bite will lead to an explosion of delicious filling and are beautifully presented little works of pastry art.

Boulangerie Aux Castelblangeois

Living so close to this boulangerie, we tried many a delicious pastry. The views at the window are hypnotic and instead of just purchasing one sweet, you may find yourself doing what I did - purchasing four which I then had to somehow get home in one piece. Each day holds a different selection to choose from, however their amarys framboises (pictured) is one of the staples, as are their opera, tartlette caramel and tartlette citron pastries.

Pozzetto

Of course my list would not be complete without at least one gelato - from Pozzetto. For gelato handed to you through a window above a selection of amazing flavours, Pozzetto is the way to go and it is the best gelato I have ever had. The pistachio gelato (my favourite, and pictured with hazelnut) is made from Sicilian Bronte pistachios and is spatula'd out, not scooped - onto the cone or into your dish. I know this because as we ordered, the owner was teaching her new employee the technique of setting the gelato into the cone with the spatula. The gelato is smooth, light and silky. Like good gelato it melts quickly but is eaten just as fast!

Dear Paris

The Arc is by far my most favourite place to view the Eiffel Tower and most of Paris, to that extent. Houses, apartments, boutiques and boulangeries stretch out in well organised rows along symmetrical streets outwards of the Arc de Triomphe. Not only do you obtain a good leg work out (be prepared to go up 284 steps) but also sweeping views of the city, come sunrise or sunset. One ticket admission required and you're free to meander about from dusk until dawn, watch the people pass by, lovers meeting, or cars attempting to manoeuvre through traffic below.

Musee d'Orsay

Built before the 1900s, The Musée d'Orsay was previously an old train station. Situated on the left bank of the Siene, it is easily reached a short and fanciful walk from the Jardin des Tuileries and offers beautiful views of Paris, the Siene and Sacre Coeur from the top floor. 

The museum features temporary and permanent collections of Impressionist and Post Impressionist eras, where Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet, Cezanne and Renoir are hung to be adored. The ground floor of the museum boasts sculptures and large scale portraits. I don't have too much more to say about this beautiful museum, instead I will let the photographs leave you in awe.

Living in the First Arrondissement

Our days were long and the nights were dreamy in this sixth floor apartment we called our home for a week in Paris. Although the living room and bedroom was newly renovated, the kitchen retained its Parisian charm. Floorboards creaked and birds chirped outside the windowsills. Not only was it super lovely, it was also in the best location in that it was close to the Louvre, coffeeshops (Telescope for instance) and boutiques. 

Télescope Café

Since opening in 2012, Nicolas Clerc's Telescope Cafe has been pivotal in cultivating the coffee movement throughout Paris. Focus has shifted to the bean, the roasting and provision of premium speciality coffee to the city of lights and love. Food options at a cafe such as this is of course simplistic.

Where the focus is on coffee you can't expect there to be a drastic range of pastries and savouries. However what is stocked is delicious and I have no qualms in regarding the banana bread to be the best I have had, the same goes for their vanilla financier. 

Charming and refined, Telescope serves filtered coffee, noisette (espresso and a dash of cream), the trusty espresso, chocolat chaud, creme, tea and juice. Maybe it was the relaxed vibe of the 1st, the morning walk from our apartment to the stylish and comfortable setting of Telescope, or the fanciful idea that I could make this cafe my own, that made it that much more special. 

Address:
5 Rue Villedo
75001 Paris, France