About 2.5 hrs, southeast of PARIS is the CHARMING, CHAMPAGNE TOWN of ESSOYES, FRANCE - home to PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR and his wife, ALINE in the late 1800's and early 1990's. This was ALINE'S hometown. She convinced AUGUSTE to buy a house there 6 years after their 1880 marriage.
Their HOME and his STUDIO are beautifully preserved as a MUSEUM that is worth a visit (see my previous Blog Post) and the town shares LARGE photos of several of his paintings, such as the one above.
When you first arrive in the town, you'll see a RENOIR sign, a GIANT PAINT PALLETTE and a HUGE RED FLOWER POT (a little over-the-top in my opinion, but Hey......).
Once we found the TOURIST INFORMATION OFFICE (which was closed), we were able to locate a WALKING MAP of the town for a "WALK IN RENOIR'S FOOTSTEPS".
Rain quickly ended our walk and the RENOIR MUSEUM was closed for lunch, so we took some time for a delicious LUNCH (and CHAMPAGNE) in a COLORFUL CAFE.
What can I say?..... the owner was ADORABLE!!
So, back to a few photos of the town of ESSOYES........
The photo above shows a picture of GABRIELLE - RENOIR'S MODEL and GOVERNESS of their children. ESSOYES was also HER hometown.
And a few photos of WINDOWS, DOORS and SMALL SPACES that I simply can't resist photographing......
And finally, a short video of two DOGS playing in their RIVER OURCE......
I LOVE their interaction and the sound of their PLAY!
Perhaps you can see why I LOVE small VILLAGES and TOWNS in FRANCE. As an AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER, it's PARADISE for me.....
JOAN
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