To brighten up the early spring of 2020 I was looking through my photographs from Loire Valley and Normandy – couldn’t resist the urge to share my admiration for this country.

Normandy brings you closer to understanding of the light and atmospheric feel of Impressionist’s paintings. The natural bodies of water reflect a lot light back to the coastal regions. The famous Monet painting that gave the movement its name “Impression, Sunrise”, was created in Le Havre.  The Musée Malraux in Le Havre has the second largest collection of Impressionist paintings, after the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

I love the coastal Normandy cities:  Saint-Malo and Le Havre, maritime city of Harfleur. Giverny is a beautiful stop before landing in Paris on a way home.

Loire Valley is another place that makes the heart of any gardener or devoted Francophile skip a bit or two – Grand Chateaus, magnificent French gardens and small villages along the river – here just a few looks. What an amazing study of forms, repetition, symmetry, colors and romance!