A thermometer advertising chocolat hangs on the wall of a village house in the town of Apt in the Luberon valley of Provence.
Shown above is the terrace of a gite or a guest house in Provence near Orange, in the northern part of Provence. Click on the image for a larger view.
Imagine spending a vacation in the South of France in this beautiful little guest house called a gite in the countryside. Provence is full of these. They can be found near vineyards, orchards, lavender farms, quaint mountain-top villages and majestic valleys.
Rosemary is a spice and herb grown in Provence. It is a member of the mint family and is a woody perennial often grown as a hedge. Here a bee pollinates the rosemary flower.
This is a closeup photograph of the cherry blossoms in the orchards of Provence.
Like most mountain-top villages, the steeple of the Catholic church is the highest point in the village, and the church is built on the highest point. It would be a major chore to walk to church on Sunday morning.
A calico cat sits in a shuttered window of rustic farmhouse near Saignon in Provence.
One of the surest signs of spring in Provence is cherry blossom time. This cherry orchard is awash with the fragrant blossoms of spring and cherries.
The cherry trees blossom in the spring announcing the arrival of the vernal climes and the coming season of delicious fruit from the trees of Provence.
These purple hyacinths were growing in the Luberon valley, high in the hills near the village of Saignon. They are beautiful.
A château sits regally on a hilltop near Loumarin in Provence. These lordly houses usually had an attached chapel, vineyards and various outbuildings of that denoted the wealth and agriculture potential of the owners.
A wisteria vine hangs over a blue doorway on an ancient stone building in Provence. This pic was snapped near the village of Saignon in the Luberon valley.
In the background you will see a quaint stone structure. It is called a borie. They were built to house both the sheep and the shepherd in inclement weather. In the tight quarters, there is usually a very small loft where the shepherd sleeps and the animals congregate in the shelter below.
Most of the better houses have pools for the hot Provencal summers. This is a gorgeous pool located at a heritage house (with a gite attched) in the northern part of Provence.
This is a closer view of the sunflower field pictured below. There is nothing happier than sunflowers in the sun of Provence. I love the south of France. It was this feeling that Vincent Van Gogh captured in his paintings.
Provence is Vincent Van Gogh country. He painted his famous sunflowers here. Pictured above is a field of Provencal sunflowers.
These topiaries are along the roadside near the mountain-top village of Gordes in Provence. Further along the way, there are conical evergreen topiaries. The countryside around Gordes is perhaps the most beautiful in Provence.
