Foliage in Giverny

Last week I took some tour clients to Giverny and as we were riding in the car, Rich, his wife Michele, and I discovered we had many things in common. Obviously one of us had the same name but we discovered all of us grew up in Brooklyn, that Rich was Italian and Michele was Jewish, just like Vincent and I, and we had the same exact political views of the U.S.

It was a gorgeous day, with oodles of sun, blue sky, and crisp fall air. The gardens at the Monet house still had plenty of flowers, but you could see that it was going to be the last of them for the season. The gardens and the house were blissfully not crowded. We whisked into the house right away without any wait, and the Japanese garden, was void of the summer onslaught of tourists. We were having such a great time, I extended the tour, and we walked through the village, admiring the gorgeous foliage, especially, the crimson leaves festooning the outside of the buildings.

 

We had lunch in a restaurant just across from the Monet house, in the lovely garden terrace. We were having so much fun, that Michele and Rich asked me to have dinner with them. For dinner, we went to Au Bourguignon du Marais, near my apartment and we savored foie gras, amazing beef Bourguignon, duck a l' Orange, and a perfect Burgundy red wine. By the end of dinner, we were all good friends, and I will see them when I go to New York.