Giverny in the Sun

LIZ SAYS:
Adrian had invited us to dinner to have his perfect clay casserole roasted chicken. It was the most luscious, simple meal. Perfectly moist chicken breast with lots or yummy au jus, vegetables, including a butternut squash that he said he had brought back from South Africa. I still can't beleive he could do that. He started the meal with these tiny cantalopes that you can get here, he had drizzled a little liqueur over them, divine! I am now in awe of his cooking, his choice of perfect white wines and his skill at entertaining.
During dinner, we had talked about places around Paris, near the city, amongst other things. He said that his arm could be twisted, if we wanted to go.
Well, we twisted and he took us. He picked the perfect, sunny day and we were off to Monet's House and Gardens. Giverny was fantastic. It was huge, Monet's house was really big and each room was painted a bright, cheerful color,then everything in it was that same color. We were not allowed to photograph the interior, but everyone in the house shot photo's out of the window. The house had lots of windows and was very well taken care of. Very cheerful. But the house could hardly contain me when there were so many lavenders, purples,blues, off set with bits of yellows and pinks. The garden was more like gardens. It was all just incredible and extensive. It is like being in a 60's technicolor movie where the colors are so saturated you think nothing looks like that in real life. There was also the American Impressions Museum. It evidently, usually has American impressionist paintings in it. However, there was a special show that included unfinished canvases by Monet. They allowed you to see the underpainting which was such a treat.