ArcaMax

I tried to imagine what it must have been like when the house was filled with noisy kids -- Monet's two sons and his six stepchildren, the children of Alice Hoschede, who Monet married after his first wife died. Our guide told us Monet fell in love with the house from the train -- the pink brick, the green shutters, the orchard. At first, in 1883, he could only afford to rent the place. As he became more successful, he bought the house, added on to it to accommodate the family and transformed the orchard into the gardens, planting hundreds of plants, thousands of seeds and creating the lily pond.

At first, our guide, Christine Brouillet, tells us the locals were not happy when Monet diverted a tiny river estuary to build his pond, but in the end, as the garden bloomed and Monet's fame grew, they appreciated what he'd done.

Young American painters came to learn from Monet but he didn't want to teach them. They set up camp anyway, staying in a grocery turned hotel in the quaint village, Hotel Baudy, holding raucous parties often attended by the Monet children. Stop for lunch there!

Giverny and the entire Seine Valley were essential in the history of the Impressionist movement, of course. We stand in the room that was his studio. Later he would build two other studios, including one large enough for the huge water lilies paintings.

Monet's house has been carefully restored -- thanks to millions donated by Americans -- the kitchen with its blue tiles, the yellow dining room and, just this year, Monet's bedroom on the second floor. There are photographs displayed along with reproductions of his works on the walls.

The best, of course, is the garden where 10 gardeners work, planting some 100,000 plants annually -- roses, tulips, iris and azaleas. There were still flowers in bloom when we visited at the end of October -- just no smiling little girls skipping over the bridge.

Some day, I think, I'll return with Melanie's children and tell them that story, letting them show me the way.

========

Follow @TakingtheKids on Twitter and Facebook and Check out Eileen's new Kid's Guide to Boston from Globe Pequot Press, the sixth in her Kids City Guide series and available online and from major booksellers. For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow "taking the kids" on www.twitter.com, where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments.

(c) 2014 DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.