Fields of Lavender

Lavender is in bloom and starting to perfume the air in Provence.  It built a whole economy on lavender and the making of its perfume and products.

Galettes des Provence

The food in Provence is absolutely delicious.  One of the pastries that I have tasted is galettes.  Galettes can be anything from cookies to the pastry pictured above.  It is a generic term for a round dessert.  This one is filled with an apple filling.

Beautiful Doorway

This gorgeous French doorway in a village house is typical of the architectural scenery that one sees in Provence.  The glorious flowers surrounding this doorway leads the mind to wonder about the interior of this house.

Cafe Life in Lourmarin

Note the half liter of rose wine on the table along with a carafe of water and a bowl of nibbles.  You have the sunlight and everything that you need to enjoy the open air cafe in Lourmarin.  This is the essence of Provence.

The Judas Tree

The Judas Tree is in bloom outside an apartment building in Provence.  This is one of the many colors of Provence in the springtime.

Harvesting Lavender -- A Lavender Cart

(click for larger images)

Lavender and Provence go hand in hand.  I have seen lavender used everywhere, even in cookies as a flavour.  Here is a picture of an old time lavender cart used to haul the harvest away for processing.

Village Street Scene

Flowers and potted herbs are all over even in a paved street in a quaint Provencal village.  These villages are built clinging to hills (because flat areas were valuable for agriculture).  Villagers kept their horses in stables at the edge of the village, and each village had at least one shop for food and such and were self-contained in the past.

Villager Watching The World Go By

A villager sits on the step and watches the world go by, tourists and all in his little Provencal town.

Classy Driveway Entrance

(click for larger image)

A stone pillar and an iron gate guard this driveway entrance and a large white forsythia bush in in bloom.  This was in Provence near the Luberon valley.

Town Fountain

 Every town has its fountain.  It is usually found in the town square.  In the days of yore, the houses did not have running water, and the town fountain was the source of water.

The lion theme for fountains in ubiquitous.  I have seen it everywhere from Aix-en-Provence to the smallest towns in the country.