Another 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. 

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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.

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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.

IMG_5301 IMG_5292 We had an uninvited guest arrive but she didn't drink much so she was allowed to stay.

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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. 

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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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_8502172 One thing we did not see though that really surprised us, no fireworks! Not a pop! On Bastille Day! Given the Mediterranean culture they share with the Italians, who like fireworks, and the Spanish, who love them, we thought this odd. I guess they are still French and find fireworks not elegant enough. Tomorrow more lavender!