Natural Space - May 13

Giverny represents nature in the way that the garden at Versailles represents nature, both in a very controlled and manipulated manor. I see the bike ride to Giverny as a little less guided than Versailles, though, with a wider opportunity to take routes outside of the established space. Both places, however, are giving people a certain path to follow, and although this path is man-made, what you see along this path is still embodied in the term "natural." The trees, the flowers, the dirt and pebbles, no matter if they were originally part of the scape or not. They still exist on their own whether primped or ignored. I felt closest to achieving a liminal state (or one that might fit my definition of this experience) in Versailles, laying in the grass after the picnic. I felt completely in balance, in a way that I knew it could only last a short time.....and it ended with the boat ride. Although that was a lot of fun, too.