A Fulfilled Promise to Return to Provence to See the Lavender!

Abbey Notre- Dame de Sénanque

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St. Simiane la Rotonde

My French friend and colleague, Nicole, and I went to Provence for the week-end specifically to see the lavender!  What a fantastic time we had!  It is impossible to express in writing the heavenly fragrance and  beauty of the lavender fields in the Luberon Valley.  We first visited the Musée de la Lavande where we learned about the process of lavender production including wonderful exhibits of the history of the distillation process.  We followed that with a trip to the Abbey Notre Dame de Sénanque for incredible views of lavender.  We decided that we needed to see more and learned at the museum that the fields are found above 800 meters in elevation.  Off we went in search of lavender.  We drove up to a hillside village called St. Simiane la Rotonde to see the large magnificent fields all around!

We stayed at a fabulous chambre d'hôte (French B&B) located just outside of Gordes called La Bastide des Gros.  What a beautiful and tranquil setting!  On Sunday morning we had our breakfast on the terrace with a striking view of Le Petit Luberon.

La Bastide des Gros

 

 

 

 

Breakfast on the terrace

 

 

 

 

Nicole in front of the entry of La Bastide des Gros

On Sunday afternoon we had a great picnic near Roussillon and included some delicious regional products such  as a goat cheese wrapped in chestnut leaves called le Banon and, of course, lavender honey for our bread.  We rounded out our lunch with some fruit, saussison, and a wonderful southern Côte du Rhône.  Great week-end!