Luscious Lavender…

Luscious LavendeR Fields…

      After eight and half hours of driving through GREEN corn fields, GOLDEN wheat fields and YELLOW sunflower fields, I finally reached the most awaited fields. The luscious LAVENDER fields. It was like a dream come true!!

        The next morning me and my husband woke up early and drove from Montbrun-les-Bains towards Ferrassieres, Province. It was a road uphill and  the view was very captivating overlooking the villages and Lavender fields. As we drove further there was a pleasant smell mesmerizing in the air and it was like driving into the heaven of shades of blue, purple and grey. I entered a field with glee it was beautiful!! I could hear the buzzing sound of busy bees when I was wandering through the flowers.
          The best time to visit is during July. It also depends on the weather. We travelled from 4-6th of July which was ideal and hot.       

        I got a chance to visit distillery Dromel Lavender & Lavandin in Sault. I learnt about different varieties of Lavender. There is also a shop were I bought few Lavender oils, sleep spray (yes, it works!), shampoo, shower gel, dried flowers for cooking and Lavender honey. Lavender has many medicinal properties too.

         We can find lots of fields surrounding Sault. Later in the afternoon we headed towards the Verdon Gorge from Sault were we saw many huge fields. 

       Verdon Gorge is a river canyon and is one of the Europe’s most beautiful places. It is formed by the Verdon River and the turquoise water colour between the brownish grey gorge is simply stunning. You can hire a boat or swim in the water.

Verdon Gorge

         On the way back from the Gorge we took the route between Puimoisson to Valensole where we found vast fields. 

      The second day we stayed near Gordes, where there are lot of places to see around. Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque is one of them. 

Abbaye Sènanque

         The Grey monastery is surrounded by purple and golden farm land, between the wild valley (during July & August). The drive to the north of Gordes to the Sénanque is specular giving you the panoramic view across the fields.

      Later we headed to Ferrassieres for a Lavender Fest. There were Lavender products, vegetables, fruits and food stall. This can be skipped if not interested.

       10kms from Gordes there is a very vivid and rustic village called Roussillon in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azul region, where all the buildings are and must be painted in shades of Ochre. There is a quarry named Le Sentier des Ocres, a must visit and very unique place. There are huge colourful cliffs of shades of orange, pink and white which is breathtaking. We can walk through the cliff with a reasonable entrance ticket. Its a fun place for kids too where they can feel the coloured powdered sand. My son had a good time but don’t forget to keep spare clothes.         It was our last day and unwillingly we had to leave the next day. It’s a “Once in a lifetime” kind of a place. I am the lucky one!