Happy Sabbath to our families at home.  We have just finished Sabbath today.  We decided that a good Sabbath activity would be to go to Monet's Garden at Giverny.  The gardens are beautiful and most of us enjoyed them a lot.  I am curious about what size staff it takes to maintain the gardens.  Many of the plants are similar to those that grow in Southern California (although some need more water to do well).  There were cosmos, dahlias, mums, columbine, mullein, impatiens, roses, sea holly, toyon, poppies, yarrow, fuschia, lavender, globe mallow, trumpet flowers, begonias, and a ton of others that aren't coming to mind immediately.  If you are not a plant-type person, you can just read the list and substitute "lots of flowers."  I was impressed with how dense the array of different types of plants was.  I was here once before, in October, and there were just as many flowers then.  We didn't see anyone tending the plants, but I suspect that it must take a large staff to keep everything blooming so nicely and all the flowers dead-headed.  The water lily pond is just as it looks in Monet's paintings, except that in his paintings there aren't several hundred people crowded around it! 

Much of the village of Giverny has become an enclave of art galleries and artists' workshops.  Many of us also chose to go to the impressionist museum there.  There was a terrific exhibit that is an homage to Monet by Japanese Artist Hiramatsu Reiji.  The works were an application of traditional Japanese styles and modern techniques to the subject of Monet's garden and lily pond.   I found the combination fascinating, and several students said this was a highlight thus far for them too.