The Luberon Valley, part one: city on a cliff

---

Geo: 43.9112, 5.20109

This was a long and eventful day, so I've broken it up into separate entries to make it more manageable. We headed toward the village of Gordes, on the recommendation of our French friends. Our struggle with the GPS continued, but today it worked to our advantage. After we missed our turn we stumbled on a Lavender museum established and run by one of the top lavender producers in the world. It turns out that the lavender we have at home isn't actually lavender, but lavendin, a cross between true lavender and spike lavender (or aspic). True lavender is only grown here and in a limited area due to its fickle nature. We saw how the plant is sown, grown and harvested and then distilled for its essential oils. Then we hit the gift shop. I appreciate that many tourist area employees have nametags marked with flags to indicate the languages that they speak. It's very helpful.

We went on to Gordes which is at least as beautiful from a distance as it is up close. It's built on the top and sides of a mountain and is quite spectacular. The French have built little areas off to the side of the road for safe viewing on the roads to and from the village. The cobblestone walkways are narrow and steep, but fun to walk. We twisted and turned about and kept arriving at new views of the valley or new shops to explore. Unfortunately, one of the sites of the city, the Chateau, was not open while we were there, so we gave it a miss to head on to Roussillon.

Lunch in Gordes: Croissant with ham, cheese and I believe a bechamel sauce.

---

Photos

Scent comparison
At the Lavender museum you can view more different kinds of lavender stills than one would have thought existed, more importantly, one can compare the scent of lavender and lavendin.

Yard of the Lavender museum
This cart was once used to move lavender in the field. Not surprisingly, it, like everything in the museum, was painted a shade of purple.

View of Gordes from the road
Spectacular. Thank you again to God for the best weather imaginable.

Girl in a window
Lots of artists live and sell work in Gordes.

Another view of Gordes
This is from the drive out, headed to Roussillon.