Impressionism through Arrival in Paris

So Saturday we spent the whole day walking in the footsteps of the Impressionists. We started off by driving to the spot in Chatou where Renoir painted "Le déjeuner des canotiers." We stood on the spot where he set up his easel, right along the Seine, and looked up at the restaurant patio which is still there (and, go figure, still open if you want to eat lunch for an exorbitant price).

Mr. Tomarchio explained that the man and woman in the lower right of the painting are the son and daughter of the proprietor. And one of the men in the back right is a collegue of Renoir. I'm really excited for our class with Mr. Tomarchio, based on his explanations of the historical context of the paintings we saw in the museum later, he knows a lot about this kind of art and we're going to learn a lot from him!

Next we went to a museum of "minor Impressionists" (I left my notebook upstairs so I am going to skip past this part and move onto Giverny). So, Giverny, Monet's home. Yet again I had been there before, but yet again I love spending time in gardens. I think one of the highlights of this excursion is how much time we have spent in beautiful gardens. As a sort of random side note, the weather here has been pleasant and mild the entire time, so it's not nearly as evident that fall has arrived. It was certainly cooler once I got back from that brief weekend in Cincinnati, but still the weather has been beautiful. One of the ways I have been able to see the change in seasons is through the way the vines are changing colors (more so than the trees). On the right you can see some of the vines on a building near Giverny. Below are some of my favorite photos from Giverny:

And after Giverny, we headed for Paris. Sunday evening traffic meant it took a little longer than we expected (about 2 hours), but we got there in time to relax and walk around before dinner. We ate at Royal Couscous - and I was very happy to have more Moroccan food. My couscous was actually served slightly differently than Moroccan couscous (I think it was Tunisian style). They served each of the elements separately (a big bowl of couscous, a tureen of vegetables and broth, and a plate of grilled lamb). Then you added as much or as little of each to your plate as you preferred. I love North African food, I hope I get more opportunities to eat it (when I'm not chowing down on French food, of course).