Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, serenely and intensely and overwhelmingly. I could just bask in it without any thought of either getting satiated with it or needing to intellectualize it, the way that I can with really powerful music. It was such a surprise that a visual experience could do that. But I suppose part of that is because it wasn't just visual, it was being in the place itself with all of its sensory fullness. The smells for example--just the air, and also the individual flowers when you[1] went to smell them individually. And there were different flowers and plants in every part, so you were constantly surprised and amazed by the new colors and shapes as you moved around.
We took the train to Vernon, the closest train stop and rented bikes for the 5km to the town of Giverny. The bike ride through the small towns and countryside in the sun was great.
There was a nice small Museum of Impressionism there too. It had a bunch of Monet paintings and also other impressionist and fauvist painters, which was good because you could compare the different styles.
[1] I think this use of "you" in place of "one" or "I" is somethign I picked up from A Moveable Feast.
No comments:
Post a Comment