PROVENCE - LAVENDER FIELDS AT DUSK
LOCATION: VALENSOLE, FRANCE • SEPTEMBER 17, 2017
Outfit Details: Dress
The lavender fields in Provence were one of the main reasons for our visit in July. There’s a list of destinations I want to visit that I have saved on my laptop and most of them need planning around the seasons. Once I started researching the area, I soon noticed viewing the lavender fields in full bloom was mostly down to a bit of luck and keeping an eye on the weather! I’m not sure if it was our luck or watching the forecasts but the end of June worked out perfectly for us this year.
Lavender season is generally from mid June to early August. The harvest is dependent on the weather, if it’s a hot summer the flowers will loose their colour quicker, however I know friends who have seen beautiful lavender in Provence in early June or even September.
The main lavender fields in Provence are around the area of Luberon, specifically Valensole. From our visit I would suggest the best way to see them is by car, we had no trouble navigating or finding the right locations while we were there and this way you can have as much time as you like exploring the area. I only wished we had hired a car with better air conditioning!
Now for the hunt for the best lavender field. If I'm honest I left this part up to Ollie, I knew I wanted to view the sunsetting behind the rolling lavender fields but working out the logistics of that come down to Ollie's expertise. He whipped out an App on his phone to check what time the sun was setting and where on the horizon. After a little search on google street view (how we ever lived without this amazes me) we had it narrowed down to a small tree just off of a quite lane.
As we drove to this spot the sky was just turning orange and the lavender field filled with a gorgeous warm purple light. The smell was sensational and the sound of the bees happily buzzing was almost hypnotic.
We were running a little late, as per usual on holiday and so quickly picked a spot to settle down for dinner. The picnic may look well put together but it was a collection of stuff we had picked up over the past few days and we brought along a bottle of wine without a corkscrew.
Then, just as we were about to dig in the field filled with other admirers pulling up on the side of the road for a prance around the sunset fields. Just by chance one car pulled up right by us and out popped a couple we met from the previous night. They were in Provence for a pre wedding holiday and were having their wedding photoshoot in the field. We ended up making it into their video drone footage and it turned out they had a bottle opener with them, what are the chances! So we toasted to the magic of Provence and enjoyed the sunset together.
