Hi everyone,
Before I get yelled at, I did use the search feature but couldn%26#39;t exactly find what I was looking for.
I know that there are many of us who would love to see a lavender field in Provence (somewhere!). I will be in Valbonne (a village about 30 minutes from Nice) in the middle of June. We will have a car, and I%26#39;d like to drive somewhere for a day trip to see the lavender and have a few Provencal meals.
Here%26#39;s my dilemma: I have no idea what to put into Mapquest to get directions to do this. Do lavender fields have addresses? Do I just pick a small city/village/town, get there and ask someone? I just really have no idea how to go about actually getting to a lavender field. I know that they probably won%26#39;t be in full bloom until later in the summer, but I%26#39;m hoping that by mid June I%26#39;ll get a general idea of the beauty of this...
Anyone have any ideas on how to go about this? I went to an official lavender website that gave info on a %26#39;drive%26#39; you could take, but it was very confusing. I just want to get in the car, put some coordinates in the GPS and end up at a lavender field. Is that possible?
Any suggestions?
Thanks, everyone!
Vicki
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Have a look at this website:
http://www.beyond.fr/map/lav_map.html
Click on one of the lavender coloured areas and you%26#39;ll see the names of the villages that have lavender fields close by. Feed these names into
www.viamichelin.com or your GPS. From first check it looks like the closest area to Valbonne is two and a half hours away.
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Thank you, Joanna! I knew that I could count on my friends at TA!!!
Vicki
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Here is another resource you may find useful:
http://www.routes-lavande.com/indexgb.html
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Thank you! My problem is that I%26#39;m not really sure which area to choose because I don%26#39;t see Nice (closest big city to where we%26#39;ll be) on these maps. And again...would I just put in the area/city/village into the GPS and then drive there and look for the lavender fields? I know I sound like an idiot...this just has me flustered!
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Hi Vicki-
You may have a bit of a problem visiting the lavender fields in anything close to %26quot;full bloom%26quot; anywhere in Provence this mid- June, especially since, from what I hear, to date the weather this year is quite wet and a bit cool also - too bad you aren%26#39;t travelling 2-3 weeks+ later.
Also, you should keep in mind that the best lavender fields of Provence are quite aways away (ie. a 2 or 2+ hour drive from where you wil be staying GPS notwithstanding.
While I know that your preference would be to just use Mapquest, turn on the GPS and follow its%26#39; directions, I seriously suggest that you consider turning it off, getting yourself Michelin maps 332 and 340 and exploring some of the sites that you will find listed on the website routes-lavandes.com as well as those listed in the many guides to Provence.
If you decide to visit the area, even though it will be %26quot;quite a drive%26quot; and you may not get to see the lavender, let us know so we can suggest some other wondeful sites to the West in %26quot;la vrai Provence,%26quot; as well as some great places to eat when you are there.
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Agree, it will be quite a drive.
If it is any consolation, the lavenders in my garden are all (65) just about to flower now. I would imagine the ones in Sault are too as we seem to be on the same track each year.
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We don%26#39;t have a problem with a 2 or 2.5 hour drive. We believe it will actually be nice to be driving through the area.
I hope I haven%26#39;t waited too long to get this accomplished. I don%26#39;t think I have time to get Michelin maps...we leave in just a few days.
Can someone suggest a nice town that we could drive to where shops and/or restaurants could possibly point us in the right direction (after a meal, maybe) to a lavender field in %26#39;maybe%26#39; bloom?
I hate it when posts are so vague, as mine is, but I just don%26#39;t seem to know what questions to ask! You all have certainly seen the question, %26quot;What would I like?%26quot; Or %26quot;Where should I stay?%26quot; I feel as though this question is similar! But I certainly don%26#39;t mean for it to be.
All of your help is greatly appreciated! Good to hear that your garden lavender is about to bloom...maybe a good sign?
I%26#39;ve been in a field of sunflowers and it remains one of my fondest memories...I%26#39;ve been a flower lover since I was two years old and stole all the neighbor%26#39;s prize narcissus flowers to give my mom. Of course I had no idea it was wrong and my mother was mortified when the neighbor stomped over to tell her, %26quot;Someone stole my narcissus!%26quot; (having no idea that I was the culprit) and then saw them sitting prettily in a vase on mom%26#39;s table.
I think flowers are just one of the ways that God tells us He loves us! And then if you get ones that smell good...aaaah!
Thanks for your help in my quest, friends!
Vicki
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Would recommend Bonnieux for lunch as a stopover.
Le Fournil is excellent - Le Tinel or St Andre also.
Plenty of choice.
Then head to Apt and go to Sault via D943 and return via D1 towards Mazan.
If you are lucky and the Lavender is fully out you can stop at the summit on D1 to look back down on the lavender fields around Sault.
They were just showing a hint of colour when we were there last week.
regards
Neal
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Thank you, Neal! When you said, %26quot;head to Apt%26quot; did you mean apartment? Or is this a place? I know...this sounds like a stupid question. It%26#39;s a day trip for us, so no apartment. Sounds like Sault may be the place to go, though.
I appreciate your input!
Vicki
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One more question, Neal...where are the restaurants that you mentioned? Are they all in one town? I%26#39;d love to try one that someone has suggested...if you have more info on them that would be great.
We are coming from the Nice area and we will leave early that morning and expect to go back late that evening.
Thanks!
Vicki
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