Tour de Lavande

There is a well known and beautiful countryside in Provence. All the beauty and sights to behold are not just along the water, but up in the plateaus, valleys, and hills. Amy and I rented a car for 24 hours to find the lavender fields on the Plateu de Valensole and get a glimpse of the Parc Naturel Régional du Verdon. Renting a car as a foreigner is quite expensive (~$200 / 24 hrs), but it was very much worth it because it is impossible to fit in 300 km of sightseeing in one day using scarce to non-existent public transportation in the rural areas of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. We used Europcar, which allows you to rent with a foreign driver's license and they have many pickup / drop-off locations in France. Note that if you are a resident of France, you can rent from Carrefour Location ("rental" in french) for DIRT cheap.

Here you can see our approximately 300 km route, which took a bit less than 24 hours. We woke up early in La Ciotat, picked up our rental car, and drove north towards the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. It was unexpectedly difficult to find a restaurant serving breakfast once we were inland, far from the coast. We ended up at a tiny cafe, La Cardeline, where we picked up sandwiches and coffee. From there we stopped at a little town Gréoux-les-Bains where we found an amazing pastry store, Maison Durandeu. We continued to the Plateu de Valensole where you find the quintessential lavender fields of Provence. It is really something to behold. On our long drive towards the Grand Hôtel Bain in the very tiny town of Comps-sur-Artuby, we stopped in the town of Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon, the beach at Pont du Galetas, and drove the D71 road along the epic Gorges du Verdon.

Here is a short video showing off the fun sights, scenes, and fun we had on our road trip through Provence. You will see the quaint town of Gréoux-les-Bains, the pastry store Maison Durandeu, the lavender fields, the beach at Pont du Galetas, and the epic lookout on the D71 along the Gorges du Verdon. This was my first time using Adobe Premiere Pro CC, and I love it. Previously, I was using (or should I say struggling) with GoPro studio. I am almost done with my trial of Premiere, and I'll definitely be subscribing for the $20 / month or whatever now that I have sunk so much time learning the program (FYI, there are many Youtube tutorials for Premiere, which makes it easy to learn). I believe it was the right choice of editing apps, although I don't have much experience with other apps. I hope you enjoy the video!

This is a picture of Gréoux-les-Bains, our first stop on the road trip. It is a quaint town in hills of Provence, south-east of Manosque. We parked (easily, something to note) and walked around for 30 minutes. We found a wonderful pastry shop, Maison Durandeu, where I picked up two of most delicious pastries I've ever had. One was a giant Meringue with hazelnuts, the other some sort of croissant with apple filling; to die for. We also found some nice art galleries and stopped for a drink. A nice, quick pit stop on our way to the lavender fields.

An unknown art gallery, where we found some nice oil (or acrylic) paintings of the area. Far in the back there you can see a painting of the lavender fields, which got us a little excited to see them ourselves! This was the first town on our trip where lavender was incorporated into everything. There was lavender flavored honey, lavender pastries, lavender decorations, and bundles of lavender hanging everywhere. This is true of all the towns in the southern part of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.

The lavender fields are scattered across the entire southern part of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Through Amy's research, she found that the famous ones, or most popular are in the Plateu de Valensole. This was our main destination for the day, and it was spectacular. As we were driving towards Valensole from Gréoux-les-Bains along the D8 road (Route de Valensole), we began seeing the deep purple fields nestled in the valleys. Then, we drove out onto the Plateu de Valensole to find vast expanses of lavender fields in all directions. There are many shops along the roads and in the fields, but there is no one destination. We stopped at many fields and found ourselves driving down some very rough roads, exploring in our little Ford Focus. At one point I was a little worried we might not make it back up a very steep, rocky road! We pulled off the road at this location (same one linked previously), where we captured much of the footage in the video and snapped all of these awesome pics.

A pan showing you the awesome contrast between the blue skies and deep purple fields :)

A fairy dancing in the lavender!

I didn't expect the sound of the bees to be so intense! There were millions of bees, everywhere. Here I am sitting quietly, listening and watching the busy bees going about their business drinking the nectar. This unexpected experience left me with a lasting sense of the fields. I can hear the bees now :)

Google Maps took us off-roading in the Focus on our way out of Valensole! I kept pushing this little car through ditches and over boulders (I purchased the 20€ insurance), but I surrendered to the trail when we were faced with a river crossing. It was just a little too intense.

This is the Lac de Sainte-Croix, known for its turquoise color. We arrived in the afternoon, and I think the color was starting to darken at this point in the day. I've seen pictures online where it is much more vibrant. In this pan you can see rooftops, which is Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon. It is a cool town, perched on the hills overlooking the lake. We would have spent more time here but it was getting late and we still had a long ways to go. With available time, we grabbed some lunch at a restaurant overlooking the lake (Le Comptoir).

I always have a strong desire to swim in any water. In my quest to swim in the lake, we found a nice beach near the popular entrance to the Gorges du Verdon, called Pont du Galetas. Here you can rent a paddle boat and go into the gorge. Unfortunately it was getting late so we did not partake, but it looked fun.

The water was super murky, but a vibrant turquoise color and very warm (this picture doesn't do it justice, you can see it better in my video above). I was told that water color is only a reflection of the sky, but I was skeptical because even when I cupped water in my hands, it was still turquoise. From a little research, I learned there are a few other factors and I have concluded that the turquoise color in many of the lakes in this area are due to glacial flour (aka rock flour). This is finely ground silt-sized rock that is dispersed in the water. This reflects light, and I guess depending on the type of rock, gives it a turquoise color.

The Gorges du Verdon are best appreciated along the D71 road (unless you can fly). I didn't plan this, and didn't pick the D71, but Google Maps routed us this way towards our hotel in Comps-sur-Artuby. We were so very lucky to enjoy this epic road, and find ourselves at the beautifully situated and constructed lookout you see in this short clip. This is one of only a dozen places I have visited (such as the Northern CA Coast, Bahamas, Yosemite, Alaska Panhandle) where I marvel at what Mother Nature has created on Earth. It is these moments that I actually put a name to her, when I have to believe, at least for a moment, that such a spectacle must be created with purpose. Something like awe, something like reverence.

To conclude our wonderful road trip, we ended up at the tiny little town of Comps-sur-Artuby. We stayed at the Grand Hôtel Bain, which had the only restaurant in town. The only bar was right around the corner, which was the only other establishment open past 7pm. When I asked the hotel receptionist (and waitress, and probably the owner) if the parking outside was free overnight, she responded "this is a very small town, everything is free...do you understand?" I said oui and smiled :)

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.