Day Three – Lavender Fields of Provence
Lavender! Purple takes over this part of Provence, especially the last week of June/beginning of July when the lavender farms are vibrant purple and about ready to harvest.
We roll into town, immediately seeing the festive fields and lines of cars eager to capture this purple beauty.
But first, we check into our quaint Airbnb right in the town square of Valensole. Perfect price ($60 a night) and an even better location right in the city center, well kind of (more about that later).
Starving, we walk just a few steps to dinner, nestled among a few others to enjoy what else, a lavendar beer and pizza.
Quickly, before the 9:30 sunset, we take a quick drive to find some of the more desirable lavendar fields in the area. Our goal, be up and at it by sunrise.
Day Four – Purple Fever with a side of the coolest village in France!
Our sleep schedule is whack! Wake up early and on the road by 6. Sunrise, and on the search for iconic purple fields and hopefully coffee.
Epic first spot!
So, considering where we are, we went down the rabbit hole of the history of lavender in France:
*Lavender was brought to the Provence, by the Romans 2,000 years ago.
*Used as medicine during the Middle Ages.
*Cultivated mainly for the production of essential oil, which is used in medicine and the perfume industry.
*Lavender festival is in Valensole the 3rd Sunday of every July. (July 16th this year)
*Here are some common uses: lavender ice cream (yup)!, lip balm, candy, beer (pretty good actually), soaps, lotions, scents & oils, and liquor
*Stores in this region are basically filled with lavender smell and everything you can imagine is purple.
*Lavender bees like to attack Scott’s drone (facts).
The history of lavender is extensive, and it has brought quite the economy to the Provence region far beyond farming. It has become a big part of this region’s tourism industry, especially this time of year.
We decided to drive a loop, which takes about an hour without stops. With stops, it took us about 5 hours. And other than the experiencing the lavender fields, the best stop was in Moustiers Sainte Marie.
Moustiers is a small village, population of about 700, and is considered one of the most beautiful villages in France. The history is baffling, with humans roaming the caves above the village as early as 30,000 BC! That’s a long time ago!
The history of the village is book worthy, and far too extensive for this blog. Present day, the art of ceramics is flourishing, and tourism thrives as visitors want to see the Notre Dame de Beauvoir Chapel which was built in the year 470, as well as walk the cobblestone walkways to many shops & restaurants.
We loved stopping here so much, that we decided we would drive back to our Airbnb, take a nap, and come back in the evening to enjoy this slice of history a little longer.
But first, an amazing place to fly our drone and capture its beauty!
Following a REALLY long nap (still figuring out this 6 hour time difference), we were back in the village. Of course, any drive, to or from a destination, requires stops to enjoy new lavendar fields.
After enjoying an evening in Moustiers, we drove back to our Airbnb via purple land, to enjoy a picturesque sunset over the mountains and glowing on the fields.
Ok, back to our Airbnb. This little town is hoppin! This afternoon, we arrive back to a bustling market at our doorstep.
This evening, we arrive back to a festive concert. We arrived back at around 9:30, and they just finished up at 1:30 am. And the party goes on till about 4 am 🤦♂️.
So we watch and enjoy for a while, but so much for trying to get on France time as we enjoy the rest of the concert from bed (plus, we old 😀).
Two Wayfaring Wanderers 