"I see London, I see France," Part 2

This is part two in my "I see London, I see France" installment. You can read part one here. 

I mentioned in part one that I would share one of my favorite places I visited on my trip, and here it is! Claude Monet's gardens is one of the prettiest places I've ever visited and it was full of inspiration. I took many pictures and had a hard time deciding which ones to share. 

There are actually two gardens, one is the Japanese inspired water garden and the other is a garden that sits in front of the house called Clos Normond. 

This beautiful bridge is over the pond where Monet painted his famous Water Lily Pond painting. There are beautiful wisteria all around it, and that would make a great spot for engagement photos. These were planted by Monet himself. As a matter of fact, there are many spots here that would make an incredible backdrop for photos. The bridge has some gorgeous aged wood with a lovely green accent on the rails. You will see that bright green color used around the house and gardens a lot. 

Here are the famous water lilies he depicted in a series of paintings. He was apparently obsessed with Japanese culture, which is why you see it used as an influence all over his gardens. 

There were a few Japanese maple trees in the garden - I counted at least three. I have one in my front yard as well. They are very pretty and grow in interesting ways. My kids like to sit under the one I have in my yard. 

This is one of a few walkways in the main gardens. It is full of many different types of plants. When is was restored in 1977, they paid careful attention to what was originally planted so they could recreate it how Monet originally designed it. 

This flower, called an allium, was my absolute favorite thing in the garden. It almost looks like something from a Dr. Seuss book. I want to find a way to incorporate them into my garden, maybe not real ones as they may not grow in my area, but I may try a DIY lawn ornament project. 

I was tickled pink to see several plants that I have in my own garden, including these beauties. They add a pop of color to my front porch and compliment my turquoise front door well. I got them on clearance from my local Home Depot, and they are perennials so they come back every year. Unfortunately they are dead right now because its been hot and we didn't get a lot of rain. Plus, I have a grey thumb. I say grey instead of black because I manage to keep some things alive. 

I found the colors used on his house very interesting. It's a very happy palate and even though it isn't muted it complements the gardens nicely. We got lucky and our tour group was the first in, so we had about 20 minutes inside before it got crazy crowded. 

I did not get many pictures of the inside, but I will share a few in a later post. I did share a couple on my Instagram and Facebook page if you want to check them out. 

If you ever visit Giverny, make sure you check out Monet's Gardens. For more information, you can check out their website. 

Where is the most inspirational place you have traveled? Let us know in the comments.