Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Lavender Fields of Provence, France

                        
                        
I made sure to create our Southern France itinerary around the peak bloom timeframe for the famed Provence Lavender fields. We got to experience this magnificent purple wonder on the 4th of July. It is a very long drive from the South of France back towards Paris-about 9 hours, so I thought it would be a perfect way to break it up by stopping at the Lavender Fields! Early July is the best time to visit lavender fields in Provence and since we were in Europe during that time, I knew I had to make it work. 
Here is what I called the Death vehicle. We had to follow behind it for too long along a highway. I was sure one of the attachments was going to fly off and kill us.  

I had planned to go to a certain field, but we were still an hour away from it when we happened upon this field on the side of the road. It was so perfect! It even had a sunflower field next to it! So we scratched the idea of the original field and took our pictures here. On our way here, I had read that Vipers, a venomous snake, hung out in lavender fields, under the plant themselves. The post I read said not to startle them, and of course, I was terrified. When we got out of the car to get the pictures, you could hear the loudest roar of buzzing you will ever hear. The bees are here in masses! I had to will myself to inch little by little into the field to try and get the pictures I wanted. I never made it far enough into the field to get "the picture," so these will have to do. I wanted pictures laying among the flowers and far enough out where all you could see was the field of purple. But I was imagining my ankles being struck by a million snakes as I skipped towards the camera making a lot of noise so that the snakes would hear me coming and spare me, while of course being stung by the bees. There was no way I was getting Aubrey in the fields for a picture after her hearing and seeing the bees. The best I got was her in between the lavender field & sunflower field, and that was a battle. Nonetheless, this was for sure a bucket list item and we are so glad we got to see it first hand. And we were able to see it without a million tourists around. 
Here I am running because my dress got caught on the plant and I was sure it was the snakes

  
Here is a picture of the exact location of this Lavender & Sunflower field
There is also a shop that sells Lavender honey, jams. strawberries, cherries, figs, seasonal vegetables (zucchini, eggplant, carrots, potatoes, spinach, salads, leeks), canned tapenade, eggplant caviar, macaroons & shortbread.
I think this area really needs to be an overnight visit. I wish we had time to stay in the town we found just past the fields. The most gorgeous turquoise lake, called Lake Sainte-Croix looked like the perfect holiday destination. I wish we had time to go do some water sports on that lake. We added it to the bucket list for the next time we are in the area. 

  Provence Lavender Fields Map

Le Long Weekend blog has a comprehensive guide to the Lavender fields of Provence, France.











Booking.com

No comments :

Post a Comment