Monet at Giverny Le Bec Hellouin and chateau Gaillard

Claude Monet lived from 1883 to 1926 in Giverny. His two main passions were gardening and colours. Claude Monet noticed the village of Giverny while looking out of a train window. He made up his mind to move there and rented a house and the area surrounding it. In 1890 he had enough money to buy the house and land outright and set out to create the magnificent gardens he wanted to paint. Monet lived in the house with its pink crushed brick façade from 1883 until 1926. Le Chateau Gaillard was built by Richard the Lionheart in the late 12th century as his struggle for dominance in France grew against the Capetien Phillipe Augustus. It finally fell into French hands under King Johns Reign. Le Bec Hellouin is one of those little known villages with a history surpassing its status. The Abbots from this historic abbey went on to be Abbots of le mont st michel and Archbishops of Canterbury. The village won the best village in France award which is easy to see when you arrive amongst the timber framed houses.

we leave Le Havre etc and drive to the area known as Giverny. We will about Monet and his life and works in Giverny and other artists such as Willard Metcalf Louis Ritman Theodore Wendel John Leslie Breck and Theodore Earl Butler married Monet's stepdaughter also the second wave of American painters in such as Richerd E Miller In December 1910, six of the Giverny artists (Frieseke, Miller, Lawton S Parker, Guy Rose known as "The Giverny Group. SWe will view the spectacular gardens created by Monet himself including climbing plants entwined around coloured shrubs, and the water garden, formed by a tributary to the Epte with the Japanese bridge, the pond with the water lilies, the wisterias and the azaleas. We then head to Chateau Gaillard and visit this spectactular 12th century Fortress on the Seine River. Afterwards we drive to Le Bec Hellouin to visit this Beautiful town and historic Abbey before returning to le Havre for your Cruise Ship.