In Search of Lavender
Lavender season in France is short. After being too late one year and too early the next, in 2017 I decided to plan a Summer trip specifically to see lavender in bloom.
August 2015 - In search of lavender, but it had already been harvested.
June 2016 - At Chateau La Calisse, too early
Based on my research, early July was going to be my best option for seeing the elusive (to me, so far) lavender in full bloom. Having been to the area around the Valensole 2 years in a row, I decided to visit the fields near Sault instead.
It looked like this was going to be a solo trip and finding budget-friendly accommodations in high-season isn’t easy. So I decided to stay a little bit out of the way, but in one of my favorite little towns, Uzes.
Place aux Herbes, Uzes
Uzes, isn’t even in Provence, so why in heck would I decide to stay there? Because it’s just “over the border” in the Languedoc, and is only about 40 minutes from the Avignon TGV station. Plus, it’s a delightful little town and I hadn’t been there for 20 years.
The price of my Airbnb was less-than $100/night. This was quite a bargain compared to the places I had considered that were closer to the lavender. And I’d only be taking one day to see the lavender, so the extra drive was worth the savings on accommodations.
My view in Uzes
It was hot when I arrived, nearly 100 degrees fahrenheit. Thankfully my apartment was in an old stone building and the temperature was bearable with a fan. I won’t go into detail about Uzes. The town was just as delightful as I remembered from 20 years ago. I was here to see the Lavender. And the next day I headed out on my 105 kilometer (about 70 miles) drive to Sault.
My first lavender field
