France Trip: Lavender Fields Around Aix-en-Provence

Sunday, May 24, 2026

I caught the very end of this year's short lavender harvest season. It had been a very hot and dry summer...basically felt like I was in a perpetual heat wave since late May, and the lavender had been feeling it, too! There were still some fields left with, albeit a bit dried, lavender to appreciate.

Most lavender in cosmetic products, including that of L'Occitaine en Provence, no longer come from Provence as Chinese lavender is far more affordable. So the number of lavender fields in Valensole is also shrinking.

This full day tour of the lavender fields of Valensole included a lunch stop in the hilltop village of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, which was picturesque and perfect. I bought a lovely original painting from Isabelle Merlet that reminds me of both the water and the lavender fields at the same time.

On our way back, we stopped by Lac de Sainte Croix, full of tourists on paddle boats in that neon turquoise water. I, meanwhile, split a bottle of rosé with one of my fellow tour group members, and enjoyed the scenery.

France Trip: Around Aix in Provence

Thursday, May 21, 2026

How? How do places as lovely as Aix-en-Provence even exist?
While literally every town I visited on this trip was delightful magic, I'd have to say (when forced) that Aix-en-Provence was my favorite. If it had a beach, I would've thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

I had to leave before I spent all my money. The markets were full of lovely linen clothing, local art, handmade goods, live music. Stumbled upon a traditional dance recital in the Cours Mirabeau. The food, everywhere was amazing. The rosé wine. Ugh. So wonderful.

I had a teensy AirBnB in le Vielle Ville (Old Town), down a quiet, magical street where I had to avoid ending up in people's wedding photos. My walks back from my day of siteseeing lead me through delightful squares like Place des Cardeurs, and down little shop-filled rues like Rue Gaston de Saporta where I'd buy fresh madeleines and empanadas.

France Trip: Wildfires in Marseille

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

In taking the train from Sète to Marseille, it began to look quite dicey. I hadn't realized there were wildfires outside of Marseille, and this was a heckuva way to discover that fact. Trains were actually cancelled the next day due to the fires, so it's good I travelled when I did.

Also good that this was the one time which I broke my rule of transferring trains. And decided I would not be doing a day trip to Marseille from my next stop. Ashes were hanging in the air at the Marseille SNCF train station.

France Trip: Street Art of Sète

Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Another wonderful surprise of Sète - street art is tucked away everywhere here. All over the place.

France Trip: Jouteurs de l'Eau - Water Jousting in Sête

Monday, May 18, 2026

One day at the beach, I was telling a young English-speaking lady how to order a carafe of water for when you want tap water (un carafe d'eau, SVP), and she asked if I'd seen the water jousters the day before. And I was like WHAT?! So I used my French-sleuthing skills to determine that the tournois de joutes is a semi-regular occurence in Sète, so I hadn't, in fact, missed much of anything. As part of the Fête de la Saint-Pierre, there would be even more water jousting tournaments than usual. July seems to be a popular month for tournois de joutes

And that is how I spent a couple hours each day watching various water jousting tournaments. It seems to me that most men were into it for the manly grunt-yell they got to do when they stabbed their opponent's shield.

There's a lot that goes into these jousts. There's training schools, of course, but then on the day of there's the boats, the rowers for the boats, the captains, the musicians on each boat with their straw hats, all the equipment, spectator stands, etc. Such a fun thing to stumble upon and experience!

France Trip: Fête de la Saint-Pierre in Sête

Sunday, May 17, 2026

I had not done any real planning, but ended up in Sète by recommendation of a tour guide a week earlier...and it just so happened that my visit to Sète coincided with the Fête de la Saint-Pierre (Festival of Saint Pierre), the patron saint of fishing. Which...in a fish town is...a decently big deal. I was in my apartment when I heard nonstop playing of a brass band, so I went on a little stroll to Rue Mario Roustan, where I was greeted by this lively, lovely procession!

Groups of boys and men in blue and white stripes, carrying wooden models of boats with effigies of the saint and lots of florals, through little streets lined with crowds of people. Leading to Église Saint-Joseph. Such a wonderful thing to randomly discover by chance! I probably should've been more diligent in my visit to the Tourism Bureau earlier that day...