Frederic Desessard of Giverny

I used to be quite obsessed with miniatures...

Painting them...collecting them

So in the massive gift shop at Monet's Giverny

When I came upon a miniature version of his atelier...

I was quite smitten...

Never mind. As I headed back to the bus for Vernon

The very road I'd been in such a tear to get to Monet's maison looked completely different.

Well I hadn't noticed it at all...

Or the enticing signs for B and Bs along the way...

Sometimes taking the road less traveled leads you right past the bus without realizing and you make some wonderful discoveries...

Like this little shop of Frederic Desessard, full of miniature tableaux.

Each more charming than the next!

Lots of little greenhouses and conservatories of course...

All very Victorian of course.

Full of British bits and bobs...

And of course an Eiffel Tower is required.

Mini painting sets anyone can afford if you can't spring for the full room.

Every single item is made from found objects.

In M. Desessard's own words:

The miniature life scenes that you are going to discover in this gallery are made from waste-materials such as cork, plastic, metal fragments, wood, cloth, paper and cardboard.

I hope you will be surprised to see what we can accomplish with these every day objects.

My work is usually concentrated in the years 1940s and 50s.

During that period there was a multitude of original objects found in houses, barns, garages and on verandas unique in their style.

Please enjoy you visit and if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask me.

Bonne visite a tous

F. Desessard, Giverny

What a delightful obsession!

Sometimes it works out for the best to wander a little off the beaten path. Of course I found the bus eventually ahem...
Frederic Desessard
L'Universe Miniature
81 rue Claude Monet
27620 Giverny

Paris with Children

Paris is a kids city.

We love to think of Paris as super glamorous, sophisticated and romantic, but that's not how it seems after 6 months here. There's so much to do for kids (and for our inner kid). Most French families have an average of 3 children - a jolly threesome of kidlets.

Dejeuner sur l'herbe for these school children at Giverny where they get in free under the age of 7. When I stopped in the tourist office why was I surprised to see a pretty green round table laid out with crayons and coloring pages of French historic sights? Kids get perks everywhere you go in France. Almost every exhibition I've visited has free games for kids related to the exhibits.

There's no reason to think twice about bringing children to Paris. And Kim Horton Lavasque's new Paris with Children lays it out for you area by area:Louvre-Tuileries, Marais and Bastille, Notre-dame, Latin Quartier, Saint-Germain, D'Orsay, Eiffel Tower, Champs Élysées, Montmartre - where to play, stay, eat, shop in detail.

I've never seen a town with so many merry-go-rounds. If there's a park usually there's a merry-go-round somewhere. All aboard! Paris has like 600 parks. (Do get the wonderful free Paris park app called CityGardens) Who isn't a kid at heart anyway?

Nor have I seen so many scooters with both kids and grown ups.

Is there another town on the planet with as many pastry and chocolate shops? So much joy and whimsy.,

More whimsy. Why I feel so at home here. Ladybugs for everyone.

Red riding hoods galore whether on your back or in a theatre...

So much goofiness in Paris and great glasses for kids. I know, I'm wearing them.

Lunettes cookies! What's one to think? I really didn't 'get' it until living here fulltime how playful and childlike the French are...

So many toy shops to drool over. Wait I've already done that...

What I love about Kim's book is we can all get great tips from it. It's got the best collection of kids shops I've seen outside a Japanese bookstore and it's in English!

Is it only in Paris you see future ballerinas-to-be prancing down the street? I think so...

Giverny

Along with painting color blobs onsite you can't go wrong doing little 2" thumbnails at such an auspicious place like Giverny.

Try to arrive at the correct train station in Paris when heading off to Giverny. Somehow I got the bright idea to go to Gare Montparnasse. Luckily there was a direct Metro line to Saint Lazare.

Monet was kind enough to draw and paint Gare Saint Lazare as a friendly reminder..

Even the little bus trip from Vernon is bucolic...

Once off the bus just follow the crowds. Don't go exploring yet. That comes later.

Do look down as you're following the gang. The road is lined with loads if iris hither and thither...

A very nice poster that explains better than anything I've seen elsewhere what were Monet's intentions.

I found myself attracted to the less formal parts of the garden...

Where planting was in process..

Looking out the windows makes you feel you're stepping into Monet's shoes...

The walls are covered with Monet's enormous and influential Japanese woodblock collection. Hokosai's cat gazes out the window...

Can you find the cat in Monet's egg yolk yellow kitchen?

Looking much like the cat in the print but now taking a nap on a peony pink poof...

It's peony season at Monet's Maison by the way. Check the flowering calendar.

I took the less traveled path by chance over the lily ponds.

There are plenty of quiet empty places no matter how many visiters...such a spacious garden.

The gift shop is spacious too but not a Monet dish towel in sight...

This book on Giverny is gorgeous by Fabrice Moireau.

And you can take home your own mini version of Monet's chat.