Art Adventure, Part 1

The group of sisters studying Vincentian history finished their session last week and Sister Sharon who was here from my Province asked me if I wanted to go to Giverny -- the home of Claude Monet -- which is northwest of Paris. We went on a Saturday morning. We took the train to the town of Vernon. It is the closest you can get to Giverny. It was a foggy, hour-long train ride. When we got to Vernon, we knew we could take a bus to get there, but we also knew it wasn't all that far, so we decided to walk. I went up to the coffee and croissant stand in the train station and asked the lady behind the counter how to get there. She was shocked -- "You're walking?" she asked with eyes as big as saucers. I nodded and she said, "It's FAR!" I told her we wanted to walk. She shook her head and told me how to get there. The truth is, when I went online and checked the distance with Mapquest, it is only about 2.8 miles. It only took us an hour to walk there and we weren't going all that fast, but we kind of fiddled around in Vernon, too, so it wasn't really all that bad. Plus, after wandering all over Washington, D.C. last April with the 8th Grade when we went to see the Pope, 2.8 miles is nothing!

In Vernon, we saw the castle-like structure below. We went to check it out. Apparently, it contained a dungeon at one time, and was a part of the wall surrounding the ancient city. You can see part of the wall on the right. It is about 4 feet thick. At this time, it is part of a cultural center in the town of Vernon and stores the archives of the city. No one is allowed in. There is a modern building across from the tower that houses a library, theater, and media center. If you click on the picture, it will enlarge somewhat. Notice the gigantic chess set at the base of the tower. Later, after we walked back, we sat in the courtyard while we waited for our train and watched two teenagers play chess. I thought that if a game like that were left out in the open in the U.S., there would be nothing left!

As we walked along, we noticed a little street with some very old houses. Vernon is a city that is at least 500 years old. Notice the houses on this street. Do the beams that go across look like they are slanted? They are! I wondered if the floor inside the house was at an angle, too. Do you see the thing that looks like a face on one of the cross beams? This seems to be a French thing to do. I have noticed them all over Paris. Look at the picture after the photo of the street. It is a close-up of the face. I call them guardians because they watch people go in and out. I wonder what sorts of stories they could tell! This one looks like it was carved right into the beam. The ones I’ve seen in Paris are all stone or concrete.

There was also this sign above a door. It shows that the person who lives here is a beekeeper and sells honey. Five hundred years ago when very few people could not read, these kinds of signs were used to help people understand what each kind of shop was. OK, Part 2 of the Art Adventure coming soon!