One More Day in the LavenderThursday July 17 After our late night at the bullfights we decided we could skip getting up for the sunrise. This would be our last full day in L'Isle so we still wanted to wallow in the atmosphere a little more. And it was another market day!
We found a good wine store too.
After sundown we headed back to L'Isle to pack. Our six days in lavender country will, alas, come to an end tomorrow, It has been most worthwhile. Bullfighting AgainIf you've read the blog posts from our previous trips to Provence you will know how enraptured we were by the bullfights. The French style, where the bull has the advantage and is not killed, are just too too fun. The ones we saw in previous years were very much amateur shows where any local boy who felt inspired could get out there and challenge the bull. The encounters were, shall we say, interesting. Here is a review from last year. https://pkkelly.zenfolio.com/blog/2024/12/abrevado
The object is to grab a ribbon that is placed between the bull's horns and then escape over the red wall before the bull can catch up with you. The athletic ability is quite evident. After the ballet with the bull the razeteur has to outrun him to the wall, leap over it and grab the railings.
In contrast to the amateurs we watched last year, who were tossed to and fro by the bulls, not one of these budding young professionals was touched. But after awhile, admiring their quick reflexes and their elegant form began to get a little boring. In fact, I was just about to turn to Jeanne Marie and say something like, "If only we had some half inebriated frat boys in there to liven this up a little more." And then this happened.
The bull trotted off none the worse for wear. The razetuer headed for the men's room to change his shorts. I included the sequence below because it shows a close up of the razetuer trying to grab the ribbon.
And I like this one.
Getting a true taste of the local culture, and documenting it of course, is one of our main reasons to travel. This was our third encounter with this ancient cult of southern France and we can't say we will ever see it again. But what a delicious run it has been! More Lavender and the Town of BedrockWed July 16th With our discovery of the great lavender field right near L'Isle we would return there every morning. The field was oriented east and west so we could get the light in front or behind us. Below we are shooting into the sunrise.
After our lavender shoot we took a drive over to Gordes to check out the Village des Bories there. This settlement was built in the 17th century when displaced peasants began to try to farm what had been just sheep grazing land. First they had to clean up the rocks. And what else was there to do with them but make fences, houses, stables, pigstys, etc.
The rocks are stacked dry. That is, without mortar. We've seen this technique used in Ireland and Italy. Below is what looks like an exact replica of the Gallarus Oratory in County Kerry, Ireland, which was built 1000 years earlier. Did the French send a team of architects over to copy the plans?
This little girl, sitting in her stone chair, made me wonder if this village might be the inspiration for the town of Bedrock, home of the Flintstones? Maybe?
We headed back to L'Isle for lunch and a little more scouting about the town. Here's a very French kind of place. A garden accessory store. We dubbed it "Le Gringo Jones". IYKYK
I like the horse and the bull. They are so Provencal! And we are going down to Arles later tonight for a bullfight! But we will do a separate post for that.
ValensoleTuesday July 15 With Rosie's unfortunate news about the state of the lavender over at Valensole we decided we would have to get over there and see for ourselves. On the way though there was a windmill that wanted its picture taken. The drone came in handy.
So we got to Valensole and found things pretty much as Rosie predicted. All the good fields had been cut, Below is one of the iconic locations.
Something we did find was sunflowers. Lovely massive fields of them. But we have those in the States.
We wasted no time heading back west. On the way home we stopped in the village of Roussillon. This village is extra cool because it is built with a red stone which is close at hand.
One of the little delights of driving through Provence are the long rows of sycamore trees that line the roads. I posted a few photos of these on the blog from our two previous trips. Here's a link to one of those posts. https://pkkelly.zenfolio.com/blog/2024/1/nimes And then the photo gods had pity on us, We found three beautiful lavender fields sitting all alone, waiting for us to take their pictures. And just as we were rolling back into L'Isle we found the biggest, fattest, most gorgeous lavender field we would see on the whole trip. It was just ten minutes from our quarters. So there will be a lot more opportunities for pictures.
We were so close to home there was still some daylight when we got back into L'Isle. Enough time to walk around a little more. Such a delightful place to come back to.
Out for more lavender photos tomorrow. Lavender Fields ForeverAnother serviceMonday July 12 This was the day we would start our chase after the great lavender fields of Provence. The lavender is mostly grown in two areas. The biggest fields are at Valensole, just over an hour east of L'Isle sur la Sorgue. The lavender there is very concentrated and easy to find The other area was Sault, about an hour northeast of L'Isle. The fields there are much more scattered and the terrain is quite hilly so the fields are harder to find. So we found a guide. Rosie Jackson is an English photographer, very accomplished, who has lived in Provence for 22 years. She knows where the best lavender fields are, which ones are at their peak color, and she met us Monday morning.
Rosie filled us in on a lot we didn't know about lavender. For instance, there are many different varieties and about six are grown in significant amounts in Provence. In the image below, behind the Little French Girl, you can see bands of different shades of lavender. The basic difference is that the lighter colored plants produce a lower volume, more concentrated oil. The lavender fragrance is quite evident, especially when you walk through it. Just brushing against it releases a cloud of lavender.
Rosie also dropped a little bombshell on us. It seems that the exceptionally hot weather that hit the region before we arrived had accelerated the ripening of the lavender. So it was two weeks ahead of normal. This meant that most of the big fields around Valensole had already been harvested. This was a major disappointment. Those fields were one of our main objectives for this whole trip! Darn the luck! Oh well, work with what we have Another service Rosie provided was an excellent recommendation for lunch. She sent us to a restaurant in the village of Monieux we never would have found on our own. It was outstanding.
After lunch we scouted off on our own. Rosie had given us some leads on where to look. One of the places she suggested was a series of stone huts called bories. These are all dry stacked stone, much like the bee hive huts in Ireland.
We were ready after a long day of marching to get back to L'Isle. This is Bastille Day. It might be fun. We found the town in a very festive mood and everybody was having a great time.
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