The main reason we chose to come to France and start in Provence at this time of the year is Lavender. I have seen photos of lush fields of purple as far as the eye can see. I want a picture like that on our wall.
I got recommended directions off the Internet. We start by driving an hour north, passing beautiful Sunflower fields, to the town of Gordes. It is a picture perfect hill town that looks like it should be in Tuscany. Aimee read that it is now an enclave for the uber-wealthy French. We take a detour from the plan and visit nearby Senanque Abbey. I have seen photos of this Medieval Cistercian structure fronted by Lavender. Little did I realize it was down a one way road at the bottom of a steep valley and mobbed by tourist buses. Sadly the Lavender was mediocre. Going after flower blooms can be a risky proposition. Sometimes Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate. Aimee and I are hoping that we aren’t too early.
We should backtrack to Gordes to follow our itinerary but decide to just input the next destination into the GPS. That was probably a mistake. I am wishing I had bought a real map to check the GPS. It turns out the Luberon Region, which we are touring, is a mountain range extension of the Alps that separate France, Switzerland, and Italy. We end up driving for an hour along narrow hilly winding roads dodging mountain bikers without even a hint of land flat enough for Lavender. The area is however beautiful.
We persevere and eventually come to the town of Sault which overlooks a valley with Lavender fields. We descend down and find several fields worthy of photos. In particular I am looking for extensive fields of lavender that have contours. Since the Lavender fields rotate every year, I am realizing I might have to drive around for weeks to find the perfect spot. There are other obstacles. At our first stop I am overrun with bees. Apparently hives are stored near the fields to produce special Lavender Honey. I have to overcome my urge to swat at them. The lavender fields are also full of sticky mud and manure fertilizer. Worst of all, I found that to get a good photo, I need to spend time pulling weeds that shoot regularly from the rows.
Lavender Photography is getting too much like work; so in the early afternoon, I surrender and turn back towards Arles. My GPS says we have an hour forty minutes, which we now know really means two hours.
Close to Arles, I get a second wind and stop at the Roman ruins of Glanum. We stop and tour this very ancient village built around a sacred spring. It is expensive and underwhelming. The best part is outside the gate, where stands the oldest Triumphal Arch in France and probably the best preserved Roman Mausoleum.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home