Finding the Spirit of Monet’s Giverny Gardens

by Meredith Mullins on July 9, 2018

Monet’s Giverny Gardens
© Meredith Mullins

Travel Inspiration for the Senses

Finding a moment of solitude in Monet’s Giverny gardens may not be easy, with the constant parade of visitors. But the colors, smells, sounds, and spirit offer travel inspiration of the best kind.

A visit is worth the investment of time, and the search for quiet and connection is rewarding in a world that inspired Monet’s painting for more than 40 years.

Once the selfies are done and most of the visitors have left in the late afternoon (or when you’re visiting in the early mist of morning), there is a magic moment when the subtleties and power of nature emerge. Read more...

Meredith Mullins 12 Comments

Art of Travel/France

Jun

Oradour-sur-Glane: A Story Stopped in Time and Memory

by Meredith Mullins on June 26, 2018

Rusted out cars in front of a burned out building in Oradour sur Glane, France, the site of the cultural history of a Nazi massacre during WW II. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The sobering story of the Nazi obliteration of an entire village
© Meredith Mullins

A Moment of WW II Cultural History that Should Not Be Forgotten

I knew the “Oh, I see” Moment would be memorable. The lump in my throat began to build long before I got close to Oradour-sur-Glane.

As the green of the Limousin countryside flew by and the road signs of well-known World War II French villages came and went, I was in full time-travel mode back to June 1944 . . . filled with a gut-wrenching sadness. Read more...

Meredith Mullins 18 Comments

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/France