We had the Cafe Gourmond, now where are the famous lavender fields of Provence?

No lavender fields here;
I went up this whole street in the small village of Lourmarin,
at the foot of the Luberon mountains.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lourmarin
No lavender here either.
This is the courtyard of the Hotel de Caumont in Aix en Provence.
Note: This is not a hotel as Americans understand the word,
it is an old mansion repurposed as a museum and cafe with courtyard.

Lovely during the day. https://www.caumont-centredart.com/fr
And very fun on Jazz night!
All Adventure Cows as well as actual people recommend
signing up for this event if you are in Aix en Provence.
https://www.caumont-centredart.com/fr/preparer-visite/cafe-caumont
Around the corner from The Hotel de Caumont, is the Hotel de Gallifet.
It too is an art center. We saw a photography display here, Reflections.
It even had a living room from the 1950’s set up downstairs.
No one said I couldn’t get on the furniture. https://www.hoteldegallifet.com/fr
And, look what they had in their courtyard – a huge Red Man.
He keeps swimming, just like Dory tells us to, but he is still in the same spot.
Have you seen the Pope’s Palace in Avignon?
Then you know that Avignon is a city – no lavender, just lots of old buildings.
The Pope’s palace was built in 1309 and
used until 1376 as the center of the Catholic Church.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avignon_Papacy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avignon
The Pope’s Palace was ok, but you can’t take pictures of an AC there.
Lunch was much more fun! Hi Tom!
Thanks for the ice buckets to cool my hooves in the hot weather.
Not far from Avignon is the Roman aqueduct, The Pont du Gard.
It is famous because it is so large and so well preserved. No lavender on those hills.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_du_Gard
One day they took me to Chateau La Coste.
This is a huge winery (again, no lavender) with several restaurants,
art, and architecture. We spent the whole day and still did not see it all.
https://chateau-la-coste.com/en/
One of the art installations we did see was “Frauen der Antike (Women of Antiquity).”
by Anselm Kiefer.
A total of five female sculptures.
All reference specific women from ancient history and mythology
who were forceful, independent female characters.
https://ropac.net/news/1284-anselm-kiefer-five-outdoor-sculptures-at-chateau-la-coste/

It reminded Linda of a statue in Westerpark, Amsterdam which is bodyless bride turning in the pond, but they do not appear to be related. https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruidsjurk_%28Patchwork%29
One day our whole group (all 12 of us) went to the town of Arles.
We started our day with a tour of the Museum of Antiquities.
This is a Roman floor mosaic – thousands of years old! No one walks on it now.
https://www.arlesantique.fr/le-musee
There is so much history in Arles!
It is close to the Rhone river, so it has been inhabited for thousands of years;
the Celts, the Phoenicians, and then the Romans who made it into a major city.
Such a beautiful place that Vincent Van Gogh spent quite a bit of time painting here.
We remember Arles as the place where he cut off his own ear. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Vincent_van_Gogh
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arles

Help! I am trapped in a Roman Jail window!
We also went to the Roman amphitheater in Arles.
Parts have been destroyed over the millenniums,
but most of this structure is still standing;
it is still in use today. https://www.arenes-arles.com/

I was captured in an actual holding cell
where a variety of beasts would await meeting one
or more gladiators! Yikes! They called that entertainment.
I’m looking from the rooftop viewing area of the Frank Gehry
designed Luma Tower. From this very modern building
it is possible to see the ancient landscape of Arles.

The Luma Art Center is worth a visit.
In addition to the Gehry tower, the surrounding buildings
have been remodeled into artist’s workshops and cafes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LUMA_Arles
Some of us did cooking classes in Aix.
This is Linda’s presentation of goat cheese and zucchini cannelloni appetizers.
I don’t think she meant to make a frowny face – but, she did. They tasted ok.
Linda made this too – I recognize the tomatoes, peas and beans,
but who knows what that orange sauce is? Or, what it was poured over.
Ah dessert. This I recognize.
It is lavender cake with raspberry sauce. Yummy.
Very French, it starts with a pound of butter.

https://www.atelierdeschefs.fr/ateliers/40/aix-en-provence/
One day the same group that did cooking had a wine and cheese class.
It all looked good to me, but Linda said the peppered goat cheese circles
paired with the rose wine was the best – her new favorite.
How cool is this? It’s a water wheel in Isle sur la Sorgue.
A beautiful town in Provence known for it’s art, antiques, and water wheels.
Once used to power silk and then paper factories,
they are now great places for Adventure Cows to explore. https://www.provenceweb.fr/e/vaucluse/islesorg/islesorg.htm
And, then the group went to Marseille. A whole, big, French, coastal town.
We began at the top. The Notre-Dame de la Garde Basilica.
Towering over the old town for centuries. This is the view from the roof,
remember Adventure Cows are not allowed inside churches.
Click this link to see how beautiful it is inside:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre-Dame_de_la_Garde
Built in the 1800’s the Palace Longchamp houses museums and is surrounded by gardens.
It is a must see when visiting Marseille. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Longchamp
These bulls have been watching over the water fountains of Longchamp all those years.
I helped for a little while. All tourists were well behaved while I was on watch.
Can you read the French? If not, here is the translation:
Cosquer : the Prehistoric Cave Under the Sea.
France is home to several caves with cave paintings that are tens of thousands of years old.
None are open to the public. All are threatened by climate change.
However you can go to the Cosquer : the Prehistoric Cave Under the Sea Museum
which is an exact replica of one of the caves.
I had to go – the caves are the same color as Adventure Cows.
https://www.grotte-cosquer.com/en/visit-the-cosquer-cave/
One day Andy and Linda and I joined a tour out of the Visitor Center.
Seven of us went on a wine tour to two different wineries in the Provencal countryside.
The countryside was beautiful, but we did not see any purple lavender,
only trees, vineyards, and Cezanne’s favorite mountain: Mont Sainte-Victiore
The tour guide let me climb on the wine barrels!
Turns out you can’t see in the window –
what you see is the reflection of the vineyard and Cezanne’s mountain.
Our last day trip in southern France; another van trip from the
Visitor’s Center to The Gorge of Verdon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verdon_Gorge
We had many stops on our way to the Gorge.
Like this one; here I am at the Temple of Apollo in Riez.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riez
And this stop. We had lunch and a good climb up the mountain at
Moustiers Sainte-Marie, another of the officially most beautiful villages of France. https://www.moustiers.fr/en/moustiers-sainte-marie
The gorge was amazing. Don’t drop me!
It’s over 1,500 feet down to the water. Who would catch me?
Finally! Lavender! Baskets and baskets of lavender.
The shop smelled wonderful.
They even had lavender ice cream. More yummy stuff.
I finally got here. I finally got to see the lavender fields of Provence. But the fields of lavender, the fields were disappointing. We needed to visit in June or July. This summer was hot, the lavender was collected by the end of July. We missed it. It was all dried out.
https://travelfrancebucketlist.com/lavender-fields-in-provence-france/

Lucky for me that we went to the lavender fields in Surrey, England.

Whew! We did a lot, saw a lot, and learned a lot in Provence. The art, the architecture, the history, the food, the wine – the shopping! It was not possible for one Adventure Cow to document and share all of it. So now, this particular adventure has come to an end.

Linda is smooshing me into the backpack again. Ouch! I never know where I will be when she takes me out. It is always a surprise Adventure. It’s good to be her cow.

Au revoir.

4 thoughts on “We had the Cafe Gourmond, now where are the famous lavender fields of Provence?”

  2. Thanks for the great photos and memories. What a great group to travel with, so many great memories. I hope we all keep in touch and maybe travel together again sometime. What is everyone’s plan for next year….we are working on ours. Not well defined yet…2 weeks or 2 months?

    1. Hi Tom,
      Yes, we are working on plans for next year too. No definition here yet either. Ha!
      Linda

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