Monet in his Garden“Claude Monet did not paint the subject, he painted the moment –the emotion, the light,” said our guide, Wafaa Lenkey, as our private car drove away from Paris’ Eiffel Tower, heading north to Giverny and the home and water lily gardens of  “the father of Impressionist Painting.”

Kensington Tours, known for their adventure tours, also now provides remarkable, customized day trips and night experiences in European cities, and they made the arrangements for our trip to the French Countryside with a private car, driver, and guide.

Page, a friend from graduate school, and I were on a girlfriend trip to France, stopping in Paris on the way to a superlative-sounding barge trip on the Burgundy river with European Waterways.  We both had wanted to see Giverny for many years,  but not with a busload of tourists. Renting a car and spending our time with our noses buried in maps and guidebooks wasn’t appealing, either. We wanted to be soaking in the landscapes that had inspired Monet and hearing great stories. Kensington supplied a great solution.

As we drove comfortably along the Seine River for more than an hour, Waafa told anecdotes about the names of towns, dished historic gossip, answered our questions, and prepared us for our destination. “Monet lived many places, but not all were conducive to painting… He saw Giverny from a train window and found it to be very conducive for painting.”

Private guide in the gift shop shows us a copy of the painting that gave the Impressionist movement its name.

She told us how he bucked the prevailing pressures to paint only “mythology, royalty, and religion” and wanted to capture light and  impressions, how the invention of paint tubes allowed him to paint outdoors, and how his cataracts in old age helped usher in Abstract painting.

Monet’s Realm

The first building we entered was once the enormous studio Monet used for his iconic water lily paintings. Duplications now hang above a gift shop, and outside the doors are the gardens immortalized in the moments Monet put on canvas—including the iconic green bridge, and a pond for water lilies.

“He composed his garden as if composing a painting,” she told us.  We had arrived before Spring had unfurled her full promise, but potential was ripe in every direction, and some bold tulips, daffodils, and primroses delighted the senses.

Imagine the conversations in Monet’s kitchen and dining area…. Our guide said he loved his food and wine.

Inside his house, Monet’s bedroom windows looked out on the colorful canvas of earth. His walls were covered with duplications of his paintings. Page particularly enjoyed Monet’s bright kitchen. Our guide told us he ate lunch there with his wife and their two kids, and his mistress and her four kids (not by him), and whatever guests he allowed.

He did not allow guests at dinner. After full days painting, he wanted quiet. Not even his dear friend Rodin or visiting American painters like Mary Cassatt were welcome at dinner.

Monet was influenced by Japanese prints and collected over 250 of them, many of them on the walls of bedrooms, and his kitchen.

Wafaa credits Americans with making Monet famous, because his first big exhibit was thanks to Americans, at a time when the French art critics were still dismissive of such big changes.  We credit Wafaa and Kensington with a delightful Spring excursion. On our art and garden trip through time, she was like the additional girlfriend you want with you — the one who knows all the good stuff about where you are.

Giverny Gardens on a Girlfriend trip with Private Guide

Future Trips

If you are going to a major European city and want to do something memorable, you can contact Kensington Tours in advance, like an elite concierge. They can find you a guide and tailor a day, a night, or more for you — from secret  fashion venues, to one-of-a-kind eating and shopping experiences, to behind-the-scenes at… well, challenge them and see.

In the spirit of Monet’s love of good food and wine, and trying to capture moments, Page and I are now off to another part of the French Countryside and will soon be gliding along the canals.

-Lisa TE Sonne, Luxury Travel Mavens

Photos by Sonne