A Day in the Luberon

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It is our second full day in Provence and we ventured out to the Luberon area to see a monastery where they grow lavender, a olive oil museum and a lavender museum.

We took a very scenic drive through the small towns (and at least 20 round abouts) of Provence on our way to the Abbeye de Senanque, a 12 century monastery well-known for growing lavender. It is one the most photographed places in Provence and you can see why from our pictures. You can also see from Genevieve's pictures that there were a bunch of adorable dogs touring the Abbeye with their families.

After the Abbeye we stopped in the town of Gordes for lunch. It was our first meal at a full service restaurant. Like all of our experience so far, the French waitress was very friendly and helpful. We have yet to meet a rude, surly French person.

The town of Gordes is perched on the side of a steep mountain-side and the pictures of the town are stunning. The tour books say that many wealthy Parisians own vacation homes in Gordes and the homes in this town certainly look very high-end.

We then traveled to an olive mill and museum listed in the Rick Steves tour guide. We waited and looked around for 15-20 minutes but the place was completely deserted with no one in sight in the little shop. So, we ended our day at the Lavender Museum in Coustellet. The museum was very interesting with 2 informational movies and an exhibit about the history of lavender distillation. Of course the tour ends at the gift shop that sells all kinds of lavender products from the family farm.

We were all still feeling the effects of jet lag so this was a nice way to get out and see the countryside without doing anything too strenous.

Tomorrow we plan to see some of the Roman sites in the area and make a stop to the Musee de Bonbon (Museum of Candy).

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