Lavender Fields Forever..

We normally do a lot of research on our destinations before we pick a town and a hotel. We consider restaurants, sights, cycling…many guide books and web sites are consulted before the final selection is made. This year we did something new…we simply took a good friend’s recommendation. With wedding planning, the end of school (etc.) we didn’t feel like we had the time to do our normal due diligence. We knew the hotel would be phenomenal but we didn’t have a good understanding of where we would be situated within Provence. As we consulted the maps the day before we left and on the plane, we realized we could not have picked a better spot.

The hotel is situated in a vineyard with beautiful grounds, a pool and a fantastic restaurant. Actually there’s no actual ‘restaurant’, just an open kitchen and tables set up on the patio, overlooking their vineyard. There are many great local roads right out our door for biking and exploring. We are within an hour drive of many other great sights and cycling classics (more about those in the days to come).

Today we decided to take another easy spin and explore some of the neighboring towns. What a great day! We’ve all seen the photos of Provence when the lavender is in bloom but what the photos don’t capture is all the other dimensions: the smells, the sounds, the warm sun and breezes. All day long we felt like we were riding through a sachet. We would be riding along, turn a corner and we were enveloped in lavender or honeysuckle. Diesel cars would grumble by and I would think ‘you don’t know what you’re missing.’ The roads here are incredible networks of rural outlets. Cars pass at rate of one to two every ten minutes. Heaven? Absolutely.

After a meandering 70 K of lavender, vineyards and medieval towns we returned to the hotel for a dip in the pool and a scrumptious dinner. Our knowledge of appertifs is improving by the day as we use every opportunity to try something new.

Kir: homemade Crème de Casis mixed with white wine
Rin Quin Quin: peach liquor served over ice
Melon liquor, also served over ice
Fig wine

Life is hard, but we’ll suffer through it.

Tomorrow we conquer….The Beast (Mt. Ventoux will be our first famous assent of the trip)!