Photographying Paris, France - Cemetery Pere Lachaise

Image 1 - Cemetery Pere Lachaise

What to do during a sunny day in Paris?
Many will answer, go to the top of the Eiffel Tower for the 360 degree view of the city, or go for a stroll at the Jardin de Touleries. But for a photographer, these places have little appeal.
When I visited the city this past spring with my photographer friend Kat Lovasi, all we wanted was some shade, contrasts, details, and patterns for us to photograph. Someone suggest us to visit the Cemetery Pere Lachaise. We were unsure at first, but after 2 days photographing the washed out sites of the city, we decided to give it a try


What a smart decision! The cemetery is known as the most visited one in the world, it has some many people walking around the aisles that you don't even feel like you are in a cemetery. Also, there are so many famous people buried there with typical european mausoleums that it resembles an open air museum. 

Image 2 - Many tourists walking through the cemetery aisles

Image 3 - Chopin

The cemetery provide free of charge a map with all the famous people buried there. However, if you arrive at lunch hour, you might need to buy a map on the outside entrance for 5 Euros. I have 2 recommendations. First, steers away from the famous. Their mausoleums are full of flowers, flags, photos, music instruments, and people which completely remove the nice characteristics of this ancient cemetery.  Second, if you would really to visit some of the them, plan ahead via internet. The cemetery is quite large and you will be able to find your way around easier with a previously studied print out map.


I visited Chopin and realized that I was not interested in seeing the famous people, but the everyday people and the art left behind to celebrate their lives and mourn their departures. 

Image 4 - Stained glass image

Image 5 - Mourning Angel in bronze

Many of the sepultures are from en do the 1800 beginning of the 1900, so the amount of bronze and marble statues are astonishing. Also, the stained glasses that survived the times are beautifully done. On a sunny day, the light that reflects through the glasses allows the coulours to pop. In addition, there is no shortage of emotional images.

Image 6 - Sculpture of little girl hugging deceased mother

Image 7 - Stained Glass image

Due to the age of the cemetery, there are many mausoleums abandoned and completely destroyed by the human hand and the effects time and  of harsh weather. Many families did not leave descendants, so the mausoleums do not belong to anyone anymore. It is an interesting contrasts of well maintained ancient, with the decrepitude of some. 

Image 8 - Mausoleum abandoned and destroyed by vandalism

Image 9 - Sepulture abandoned and destroyed by time and harsh weather

I wonder around the aisles, always trying to avoid the large groups with obnoxious guides shouting each detail about the life and death of the famous. On the unbeaten path, I was able to appreciate life by the mourning figures. Also, I found piece and inspiration. I started to look into patters, details, and to create with the art pieces that were given to me. My favourite image from this afternoon at the cemetery is of an untouched stained glass image of Virgin Mary that I took through a broken stained glass and a fence. The juxtaposition of them has given me a colourful and fragmented master piece. I call it My Picasso. 

Image 10 - My Picasso - Juxtapossed image of untouched stain glass with a broken one

Other creative images that I created were: a disrupted pattern on the ground, more stained glasses viewed through gates, form and shadows, and using depth of field to make the contrast of life and death come to life. There are many other creations possible and it has given me many ideas of things that I can do not only at this cemetery but in any other one around the world, or even on churches and other locations in the cities that I visit. 

Image 11 - Creative Pattern

Image 12 - Form and shadows

Image 13 - Stained glass through gate

Image 14 - Use of depth of field to create life and death contrast

I have to confess, I was really emotional during this visit. Once you are alone among so many untold stories, you start to reflect on your own existence. It was a great reflective moment. But there were a couple of sepultures that freaked me out. They were plain bizarre and with lack of taste. For example, when I first saw the maya sepulture, I thought it was a great representation of a different civilization. Until I got closer and saw the design. Am I the only one that sees it?

Image 15 - Mayan inappropriate sepulture

 Another example is this bronze sculpture of a narcissist person. The image is not of high quality, but there was nothing artistic that I could do about it. I was appalled by it. Would the person have requested it, or would the family have made the decision themselves? I wonder...

Image 15 - Narcissist

The possibilities are endless at Pere Lachaise Cemetery. As a photographer, you will have a blast exploring the small aisles full of art, as a historian buff you can discover so many famous people around. Unfortunately, we just had a couple of hours to cover the premises, so if I am ever back to Paris, I know where to spend one of my afternoons. 

Apologies

I would like to take 5 minutes and apologize to my followers for being so absent from the blog for a few months.


As it is said, life comes at you fast. Let me tell you how fast... In a month I went form enjoying summer during my sabbatical, to finding and starting on a great new job. 


After 2 months at work, life is starting to get back to normal. I have put on long hours at work trying to learn everything that I can in addition to already managing projects. So, my photography passion had to wait until I was able to coordinate my new professional life with my personal life. 


Things seem to be settling down now. Last week I was able to get back to exercising, and this upcoming week, my plan is to return to my local photo club. I have an outing planned on Tuesday night. Let's hope that I can make it out of work in time to join the group in Morges.


This weekend, thanks to the storm, I have been able to get back into the blog. I am preparing a very nice piece for this afternoon.


I hope you enjoy it and keep sending me feedback for constant improvement.


Till next post!
Daniela Negreda

WG - What do a math teacher, a translator and a statistician have in common?

As featured at Federation Internationale de Gymnastique website for the 14th World Gymnaestrada 2011 in Lausanne

LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, July 14, 2011: This sounds like a very complicated question, but in the face of the 14th World Gymnaestrada it is easy to answer: They all share the passion for Gymnastics.

The 3 teammates Daniela Fonseca, translator, Marilia Franceschinelli de Souza, math teacher, and Ana Luisa Lorenzeti, statistician have joined the Brazilian group Grupo Ginastico UNICAMP (GGU) from different walks of life and gymnastic levels.

The group lead by Marco Antonio Coelho Bortoleto with the assistance of Larissa Graner has a very interesting gymnastic approach. The first differential is that to join the group there is no requirement of previous gymnastic training. Each individual needs to have the desire to learn and keep the research on Gymnastics. The second differential is the group objective. Through simple choreographs the team’s goal is to reach kids in schools and spread the practice of Gymnastics in Brazil and the World.

The GGU is a unique group because it is partially sponsored by the university Universidade Estadual de Campinas, but moreover; it is utilised by the university as an academic research platform on the development of Gymnastics in the country.
Brazil is a country where the population reality is one of few resources and poverty. Therefore, their proposal is to show to kids and educators that resources are everywhere and with creativity everyone can get involved with Gymnastics. The group has performances with water bottles, soda cans, discarded wires and even newspapers. Any alternative material is transformed in props for the group’s routines. If the group can show kids to utilise the resources that they have around them, they believe that more people will get moving and live a healthier life style instead of being stagnated on the vicious cycle of not doing something due to the lack of resources available.

The team is not interested in competition, even among them, they have many different levels of fitness and each individual contributes with their skills and talents – inside and outside of Gymnastics.

After their presentations at World Gymnaestrada in Lausanne, the group continues on tour to Denmark where they have a well establish exchange of talent with the local federation. The tour comprises of 6 presentations of 30 minutes in different cities. They will bring some of the routines performed in Lausanne and add different ones as well.

For the World Gymnaestrada City Performance, GGU brought their colourful piabas (Brazilian fish) and made the Place de la Riponne dance during lunch time at the sound of an upbeat Brazilian folkloric song.

http://www.sportcentric.com/vsite/vcontent/content/news/0,10869,5249-203941-221164-48942-314181-news-item,00.html

WG - Creative use of Materials

As featured at Federation Internationale de Gymnastique website for the 14th World Gymnaestrada 2011 in Lausanne

LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, July 14, 2011: During World Gymnaestrada presentations creativity truly plays an important role in the development of the routines. It is not just about technical performance but also how to integrate different materials to cause a mesmerizing visual impact on spectators.

Everything is acceptable from simple use of garbage bags as costumes, to highly elaborated carrousel equipments. In the case of the Large Group Performances, the materials and colours complement the huge field used as stage. In addition, they add an element to do acrobatics and play around such as stackable wooden boxes.

Other groups have hidden themselves completely for parts of the presentation building suspense in who was behind those exquisite movements. The creativity continues by integrating the same hiding costume throughout the rest of the presentation.
There are still plenty of performances at this year’s edition of World Gymnaestrada and the choreographers seem to be outdoing themselves in creativity.

What will the next presentation reserve for the spectators? We will have to keep checking them out.


http://www.sportcentric.com/vsite/vcontent/content/news/0,10869,5249-203941-221164-48942-314183-news-item,00.html

WG - All hands on deck

As featured at Federation Internationale de Gymnastique website for the 14th World Gymnaestrada 2011 in Lausanne

LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, July 14, 2011: They dance, jump, flip, do hand stands, cartwheels, they throw a ball in the air to catch it after pirouetting across the stage. They integrate different equipments and materials in their routines and change costumes on the fly. These are the gymnasts participating in the 14th World Gymnaestrada.

But this is not all that they do!

During the presentations at Beaulieu Hall, each team has 20 minutes to perform. This time includes not only the presentation, but also the set up and take down of all the equipments, apparatus, and components required by the group for their routine.

This is when all hands are required to help. During the few minutes between presentations, the gymnasts work like they were in a very well organised anthill. They run from one side of the stage to another carrying, dragging, and rolling equipments. Sometimes measurements are required to ensure the correct placement of the equipment. Other times a very well choreographed routine takes place to assemble and disassemble large pieces of apparatus such as a massive 6 people rings.

When all is in place, the gymnasts position themselves and perform passionately. At the end, the take down ritual repeats itself before the celebration backstage of a job well done.

http://www.sportcentric.com/vsite/vcontent/content/news/0,10869,5249-203941-221164-48942-314173-news-item,00.html

WG - No generation conflict

As featured at Federation Internationale de Gymnastique website for the 14th World Gymnaestrada 2011 in Lausanne

LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, July 13, 2011: The Canadian team Alberta Remix brought to this year's World Gymnaestrada the evolution of music. To cater to the large range of participants, the coaches and choreographers agreed on a theme that would leave the generation conflict on the floor. The group has members from 10 to 72 years old.

Ironically, their theme played a trick on them and the sound desk had issues to play their music. The group's coaches scrambled around to provide another copy of the CD and even a version direct from an iPod.

The public supported the team by cheering and clapping while the athletes passively waited in position. When the music finally started the audience was already on fire, which resulted on an explosive presentation from the group. All generations rocked the floor.
The oldest member of the team Marje Cherer said she was pumped. She celebrated a job well done backstage with her daughter Lindsay Oliver who is one of the team's coaches and a 5-timer participant of World Gymnaestrada.

The presentation proved that the 14th World Gymnaestrada is for everyone and that there is no conflict of generations.


http://www.sportcentric.com/vsite/vcontent/content/news/0,10869,5249-203941-221164-48942-314152-news-item,00.html

WG - First Timers

As featured at Federation Internationale de Gymnastique website for the 14th World Gymnaestrada 2011 in Lausanne

LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, July 13, 2011: Two groups from Argentina, CPO and Fuss, are participating for the first time at World Gymnaestrada this year, but seeing their performance one would think that they are veterans.

The groups got together only four months ago to bring to Lausanne a combination of contemporary dance, hip-hop, gymnastic and tango. The choreographers Mayra Machado and Veronica Diaz Velez put together a piece with colourful costumes and beautiful movements.

The team has just one male participant, Fagundo Giordano who was busy tangoing away with his teammates. Despite being the only man among so many girls, he affirms that it does not present a problem since they are a united group. However, he admits enjoying the attention of being different. His main objective in participating in the event is to learn from other more experienced delegations and go back to Argentina, where he will be able to help the sport growing.

World Gymnastrada is about exchange of cultures and diversity and always welcomes new nations that are developing the practice of gymnastics at all age groups.


http://www.sportcentric.com/vsite/vcontent/content/news/0,10869,5249-203941-221164-48942-314150-news-item,00.html

WG - The energy that comes from the south

As featured at Federation Internationale de Gymnastique website for the 14th World Gymnaestrada 2011 in Lausanne

LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, July 13, 2011: Clapping, cheering, chanting and dancing… the blue South African wave of athletes arrived at Beaulieu Lausanne. The team building leader Boitumelo Nong made sure that the group keeps the traditions. As he explained, in Africa dancing and singing is part of the every day life of the population. The group from North West South Arfrica brought all their traditions in the bag with them. The leader started African Contemporary songs in the North West dialect and the group of athletes followed. These are songs about their day to day and are used to build their nation.

People arriving at the same time as the delegation joined the group, many as spectators and cheers, but others like the Valais Wallis group could not resist rhythm and broke into the group. Nicole, Ursula, Beatriz, Marie-Noelle, and Helene all agreed that the exchange of culture is very important during the event and it is hard to stay in place with such a rhythmic and entertaining entrance.

Tumelo Aphiris, a member of the South African group, said that the energy and joy is part of having a good time while enjoying himself during World Gymnaestrada. He also reminded everyone that the vuvuzelas first introduced during the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa are now part of the country’s tradition and could not been left behind. Not only the Vuvuzelas were present during this spontaneous show of energy but also they have been incorporated into the group’s country night presentation on Tuesday. “You can’t leave home with out a vuvuzela anymore,”said Tumelo.

This spontaneous demonstration of rhythm and joy was just a peak at what the groups presented at Malley Hall during the South African National Evening, when they engaged all the spectators around them.


http://www.sportcentric.com/vsite/vcontent/content/news/0,10869,5249-203941-221164-48942-314142-news-item,00.html

WG - Proud to be Portuguese

As featured at Federation Internationale de Gymnastique website for the 14th World Gymnaestrada 2011 in Lausanne

LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, July 14, 2011: I was born in Brazil into an Italo-Portuguese family. Recently I acquired my Portuguese citizenship but it wasn’t until the 14th World Gymnaestrada’s Portuguese night that I discovered how truly Portuguese I am!

The Portuguese delegation brought to Lausanne all of their tradition of Fado, the traditional nation’s rhythm that is characterised by all the emotion of their people. The lyrics are about day-to-day routine and many times are related to the loss of loved ones or the “saudades” – the Portuguese word to express the feeling of missing someone or something.

When I first entered the Malley Hall I was overwhelmed with the amount of Portuguese people waving their flags and chanting POR-TU-GAL in unison. Ms. Isabel Mendes is a Portuguese national from Vila Real, Tras-os-Montes, who has adopted Switzerland as her home over 26 years ago. However, her heart has not changed nationalities, she makes sure to keep all the countries roots in her family. When she saw on TV about World Gymnaestrada and the Portuguese night, she got onto the internet immediately to buy tickets. She came with her family to support her country’s athletes, but overall to calm the homesickness of her heart with all the Fados.

The Portuguese night did not disappoint her!

The theme was kept throughout the night, with images of the country’s beauties being projected in the screen and the music selection from big names of Portuguese Fado such as Amalia Rodrigues and Carlos do Carmo to name a few.

Another very proud Portuguese in the audience was Carlos Branco who waved his large flag to the crowd. He came from Portugal with the group Clube Desportivo Escola Secondaria Miguel Torga.The group that brings 80 gymnasts to Lausanne as Carlos said“Gymnastics is for all, but someone also needs to be behind the scenes to support. I wish I could be in two places at the same time to participate in the show.”

The gymnasts delivered on everyone’s expectations. The Fado was danced by all groups and adapted to their own type of performance. The creativity of the choreographers and the use of the music were a true show. To the delight of the audience, a group danced hip-hop to the rhythm of Fado.

I followed every movement with my undivided attention and every song with the thump of my heart. When the song “Uma casa Portuguesa” (A Portuguese Household) by Amalia Rodrigues started playing, it hit me hard on how proud I am to be Portuguese. I got teary eyed and home sick, this used to be my late grandmother’s favorite song that she would sing while cooking my preferred dish bolinho de palmito.

Thanks World Gymnaestrada for providing so many emotional moments for gymnasts, volunteers, and spectators!

 

http://www.sportcentric.com/vsite/vcontent/content/news/0,10869,5249-203941-221164-48942-314175-news-item,00.html

WG - Smiles despite pain

As featured at Federation Internationale de Gymnastique website for the 14th World Gymnaestrada 2011 in Lausanne

LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, July 13, 2011: On Monday’s rehearsal, gymnast Christel Carnevali from France fell during a lift. After spending all night at the hospital in Lausanne she had the confirmation that her left arm was broken. With her arm on a cast, she joined her teammates early morning on Tuesday to modify the choreography for the 10:40 am presentation. Christel would only be able to participate in some parts of the presentation, the ones that did not require any strength from her left arm.

During the presentation, she sat out on the side of the stage waiting for the right moment that she could jump in to complete her team. She was even able to lend a “hand” for a lift of her teammates. After the presentation, she expressed with teary eyes about her experience and frustration. She has been practicing gymnastic for 15 years and the past 2 years with the group Kingersheim/ CT Gym Toulouse specially for the 2011 edition of World . Gymnaestrada. After this event she is retiring, with a bitter sweet feeling. But she is not letting any broken arm ruin her experience in Lausanne. She still has three more presentations to complete this week, in which she will be greeted by the warm encouragement of her peers and spectators.

Another story of overcoming injuries is of the Portuguese gymnast Carlota Cunha. It was not until two weeks ago that she received the go ahead to participate in the 2011 World Gymnaestrada. She has injured her right ankle and has not been able to practice for several weeks. Despite the injury, she has joined her team Sporting Club Portugal in Lausanne. She is enjoying herself during the event and said that the pain is well worth it.

Before her presentation, the coach Catia Correia made sure her ankle is perfectly immobilized to avoid any further damage. Carlota was able to perform all the exercise as planned, which makes it easier for her team. During the presentation her energy and big smile were contagious. Seeing her performance, one would not imagine the pain that she has been through. It is athletes like Christen and Carlota that brings the true spirit of World Gymnaestrada to life showing that participation is the main objective.

http://www.sportcentric.com/vsite/vcontent/content/news/0,10869,5249-203941-221164-48942-314144-news-item,00.html

Guest Blogger - My sister Andrea Negreda

When I finally started packing to come to Switzerland to visit my sister last June 15, I definitely had the camera in my list. However, I wondered whether I should bring the semi-professional Canon G11 that my husband loves and uses beautifully whenever we travel, which would require a crash course on some of the features it has available, or our automatic jack-of-all trades and efficient Sony Cyber-Shot, which I can usually deal with without major difficulties.

Being the sister of an aspiring photographer and blogger, who takes the time to travel around photographing the country and writing about picture-taking and the places themselves, I obviously preferred to stick to my easy and handy option: the automatic camera. Light-weighted, small and reliable, I thought I would use it now and then for shots I chose myself and as a backup, sure that this time my photo album would be perfectly balanced, without any excluded feet, twisted images or illogical positions, thanks to the fact that I was “riding with the camera queen”.

To my surprise, for the whole time we were together - herself, our mom and me, she decided she would go on vacation as well – from photographing! And there were we taking all pictures with my automatic 7.2 mega pixel camera instead, trying to choose between focusing the background or ourselves, the incredible landscape or the souvenirs we would like to keep forever.

Image 1 - The Negreda's in Montreux

The most difficult part was to photograph the breathtaking landscapes from the mountains – trying to capture the images from the lake, the houses built on the mountains, the luxurious green, the natural relief, and even the snowed mountain tops, all in one single shot. I guess this is not an easy task even for professional photographers that spend time adjusting the camera settings and waiting for the right light to shed, let alone simple travelers marveled at every single thing they see.

Image 2 - Lauterbrunnen

Image 3 - Lavaux Terraces

After all, when I got back home and started to go through the pictures, I was not disappointed at all – yes, there are still pictures where we can only see part of our heads, or some where we cannot clearly see the forest for the trees, but in my opinion we have managed to gather all it takes to have the perfect photos: wonderful landscapes, a relaxing and pleasant atmosphere and above all, precious moments to cherish.

Image 4 - Gruyere

Image 5 - Bern

Image 6 - View of Montreux from Caux

Sis, hope your readers can enjoy some of our “masterpieces”.

Love,

Andrea

Out of Luck

Photographing is all about being at the right place at the right time to capture the most amazing display of light.  In order to achieve moments like this, a photographer needs to have luck on his/ her side. I can’t complain, since I arrived in Switzerland, I had an amazing photographic luck streak. Fantastic weather, nice sunsets and sunrises, birds not flying away, friends visiting, and all other things that make photographers love every minute of their days.

However, this last 2 weeks, my luck changed. Whenever I plan a trip, something happens. As John tells me, life happens sometimes.

Here is my biggest out of luck moment of the week. I have been planning to go to Aletsch Glaciers for a couple of months, for some weird reason, there is never a good time. Finally this past weekend, John and I woke up really early and got into our over three-hour trip for the glaciers. The plan was to arrive at Eggishorn by cable car (despite my fears) and then do the four-hour loop trail visiting the Marjelensee Lake.

The train and cable car ride went well. The weather was a perfect combination of sunny with some clouds in the sky and calm winds. At east until we left the Eggishorn observation area. A cold wind started blowing from the south side, we made the short one hundred meters pathway to the first viewpoint and admired the majestic view of the glacier. The wind picked up even more and we decided to go back to the observation area and put some extra cloth layers. A little over one minute after, the weather condition had turned 360 degree. It had started to snow heavily and a thick fog formed all around the area. There was no glacier in site. How was it possible? All 23km of glaciers had disappeared right in front our eyes, we knew that it was all there, because we had had the opportunity to take a peak at it less than 5 minutes before.

Frustrated, we went inside and waited for over three hours. Finally, the snow stopped and we went outside to take some record shots. Yes, we were out of luck this time to photograph, but at least we have the 10 seconds of glorious view recorded in our minds. See you soon Alestch Glaciers! 

Photographing Giverny, France

I have 2 famous artist that I have always imagined how it would be if I would have had a chance to meet them. The first one is Pablo Picasso, for his 3 dimensional perception of the world and the second one would be Claude Monet for his distorted view.


This past spring, by total accident, I was able to realize a childhood dream. While driving through the country side of France, I saw a sign pointing to Giverny. It was totally unplanned, but I have had the opportunity to spend about 2 hours exploring and photographing The Giverny Gardens.

Image 1 - Claude Monet's gardens and house in Giverny

I experienced an overload of emotions when I walked to Monet's large studio, now converted into a gift shop. It was anticipation and excitement. I knew that just out of the studio door his world would open up before my eyes.

Image 2 - Monet's world unfolding before me

Spring is definitely the right time to visit this site. Also, try to arrive really late in the afternoon, about 2 to 3 hours before closing time. This way, he majority of the tourist buses that come from Paris will have left and if you are really patient you will be able to register this amazing location without anyone around.


Take your time to walk around every corner of the gardens, and leave enough time for the inside of the house. Where you will see lots of his originals in addition to the asian art work that has inspired the water gardens. 

Image 3 - Water garden

Image 4 - Japanese Bridge

The property is large and requires constant up-keeping. There are gardeners throughout the property maintaining the natural beauty of nature that Monet has shaped for his artwork.

Image 5 - Gardener of Giverny

 The entire property is a feast for the senses! The pollen trickles your nose, the colours and shapes marvel your eyes, the textures invite your hands for a caress, and the birds and frogs are so loud that everyone around quiets down to them. For a taste of the garden, you will have to wait until you exit. No food or beverages allowed at location. :)


While I walked around the pond, the frogs serenaded me. It was a magical moment, about 1 to 2 minutes that the world stood still, just a lovely croaking symphony.

Image 6 - Different areas of the Water Garden

Image 7 - The plethora of colours surrounding the pond

Image 8 - Let your senses guide you through the garden

 For me, it was as if Monet was walking me through the gardens. I could sense his presence, close my eyes and see him getting his inspiration from each flower and drop of water in the area. I started to look at the scenery through his eyes, remembering some of his most famous paintings. Photographing the site was as if I was trying to reproduce his work. The rowing boats at a corner, the view of and from the japanese ridge, the water lilies, well, just about everything! 

Image 9 - Rowing boats

Image 10 - View from the Japanese Bridge

Image 11 - Flowers, flowers, and more beautiful flowers!

I decided to incorporate some techniques in camera and off camera to reproduce Monet's distorted brush strokes. In camera, I have used camera movement with a low shutter speed, off camera, I created some orthon by blurring one layer and sharpening another. The results are different than just simple images of the gardens, they have a Monet's flavour in it.

Image 12 - Camera movement to reproduce Monet's brush stroke

Image 13 - Orthon of Water Garden

Image 14 - Orthon of house garden

 All of these experience would not have been possible if it wasn't for my wonderful boyfriend, who has offered to stay outside the garden with our dog on a 28 degree celcius weather. Thank you so much for allowing my dream come true! Love you!

Image 15 - Monet's house and gardens in Giverny - a dream come true