A few short days after Glastonbury I was off again. This time to France to join Lisa, her 2 kids (Hamish and my god-daughter Louisa) and her mum for a few days in Bonnieux, a village in Provence. The same one we visited last year.
Lisa was to pick me up in Avignon after she flew in from Nice and drove up in the hire car from there. I arrived mid-afternoon when the theatre festival was in full swing and it was 30 degrees. The city had a great vibe. I wandered around the shops and the city for the afternoon and evening (after Lisa's flight was delayed) lumbered with my suitcase and bags but stopping for gelato, dinner, and a few glasses of rose along the way. There's a business opportunity ready and waiting for anyone who wants to open a left luggage facility in Avignon! After a long day for everyone, Lisa arrived late that evening and we made it back to the apartment.
Waking up the next morning in Bonnieux and greeted by Hamish and Louisa was lovely!
On our first day we wandered around the 'brocante' antique market in Bonnieux, and had lunch at the restaurant at the top of the village which overlooks the village and the surrounding area. Afterwards Lisa and I drove to the Abbaye de Notre Dame Senanque near Gordes. I was thrilled to find that in the first week of July, the lavender was in full bloom and not yet harvested. I've been to Provence a few times but never been in the right season for the lavender.
On Monday we did a very pretty drive through the Luberon to Sault where there is a concentration of lavender fields. We stopped for crepes in for lunch. That afternoon Lisa and I quickly stopped in at top-notch boutique at the lavender museum so I could stock up on some goodies (hand cream and oils) all made from their own nearby fields.
On Tuesday we set off quite early for the markets in Curcuron. They are in a very pretty setting under the plane trees and around a long pond. I picked up some locally produced soap and we got some fresh fruit, vegetables and saucisson. Then it was on to Lourmarin which is a very pretty village - one of the bigger ones, a little more upmarket, but still very charming. We had lunch in a restaurant courtyard, looked through all the shops, and played in the park. I stocked up on lavender bags which ought to keep the moths away from my clothes for a day or two and some new espadrilles.
In amongst all of this, I played with Hamish and Louisa, we even had a quick dip in the pool at the apartment but it was still a bit chilly, I got to spend some time with Lisa, and we had a few glasses of rose in the evening.
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| View from Bonnieux |
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| Lisa and me |
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| Bonnieux |
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The view from the bathroom window
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| Abbaye de Notre Dame Senanque |
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| Overlooking Gordes |
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| Driving through the lavender fields |
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| Hamish and Louisa in Sault |
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| Rousillon in the distance |
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| Curcuron markets |
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| Lourmarin |
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| Lisa making me pose |
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| Playing with Louisa and Hamish |
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