Paradise

As I write this, it is 11:00 Pm and just outside my window, in the courtyard, I am being serenaded by the most beautiful live music which is accompanying a slide show of photographs taken by local artists, which are part of a huge festival taking place. The courtyard is packed with people who have come from other villages to view the film. The only slight disturbance comes from the chime of the church bells next to the performance. The experience of Provence is breathtakingly beautiful. I always pictured Provence to be beautiful, but not to this extent. Rolling hills of Lavender, Lavandin, Sage, Rosemary, Juniper, Thyme, Savoury and fields of Spelt are abundant and you never tire of looking out at the Plateaus and mountains. We began our morning sharing a wonderful French breakfast of croissant, baguette, yoghurt, fresh fruit, cold meats, fresh orange juice, cheese and cafe au lait. Sharing meals gives us the opportunity to learn a little more about each other and I find I am traveling with the most interesting and inspiring women. We have a "soft" departure time of 10:15 and then we are on the road. Not far from our village we visit a farm called Le Parent. It is the first farm in the world to produce organic essential oil of Lavender. We watch as the lavender is driven in, placed in the distillery, steamed, shown how the water and oil separate and finally how the oil is produced. We wander the fields and the fragrance of Lavender abundant. it does not come without it's problems. Where there are flowers, there are bees and I managed a good sting. What to do? well, put lavender on it of course. I used the flowers from the plant and then while shopping in the boutique, put some Fine Lavender on. It took the sting away immediately. Next on the agenda was lunch. We went to a neighboring village and dined al fresco under plantation trees. The presentation was divine, with sprigs of lavender at each place setting. We ordered an Amuse Bouche and I enjoyed a plate featuring 5 different variations of tomato topped with sharp cheese shavings. We enjoyed a nice Rose and were then treated to an amazing sweet wine with Lavender liqueur. We then had the most delicious soup made up of legumes, spelt and herbs. I ordered the Lamb and it was mouthwatering. The owner treated us to a glass of champagne which complemented the most amazing dessert I have ever tasted. It came in a small mason jar and it was layered with Verbeena sorbet, frozen meringue, lavender ice cream and topped with creme Fraiche. We shared stories of ourselves and our hosts shared ow they founded their tour company and spoke of all the different tours. They usually have 15 people per tour, but they seem quite pleased at our small group of 5. We then wandered the village, climbed some ancient stone steps to a small chapel,where I lit a candle for Steve, and then visited the most quaint Cemetery. Back to our village to prepare for our trip to the Thermal Baths. It is a gorgeous spa. We changed and headed to the main pool. The view of the hills and mountains were amazing. We took an aqua fit class which was taught en Francais, the. Headed to the rooftops and sat in the hot tub chatting. As we were driving home, we caught side of a farmer, harvesting his Lavender field, we pulled over for a photo op. Dinner this evening was spent in the village. Our hosts left us on our own and we chose a sweet restaurant overlooking the plateaus. They had a live Jazz band and as is something we are becoming accustomed to, had the most adorable waiter. We sipped local wine, ate pasta and cheese, talked and laughed. So, I am now in my charming room, listening to the activity below, satiated beyond belief and I emotionally and so happily begin to count my blessings. Tomorrow, we visit herb gardens, medieval potager and ethnobotanical centre. Bonne nuit