Montelimar - Fete de la Couleur Lavande

3 guesses where I am? I came to see the fields of lavander in the Drome..sort of upper-upper Provence also known as the Rhone Vallée. Almost every region in France has about 3 names. They just changed them again to keep the French on their toes. As if they weren't already expert enough.

I saw they had a fête on this weekend. By the way there are fêtes every weekend in almost every town in Provence and upper/lower Provence. Toute France aussi!

The lavander is available for just a short window.

Then it is cut and distilled etc into oils, essences, room sprays, you name it.

Lavender oven ware and pas cher...so tempted but I'm already loaded. I'm sitting on a park bench postine which is why there are even more errors than usual. Please forgive 🙏 There are roosters 🐓 definitely free-range running around crowing to give a country effect. Ha!

La creme de la creme of honeys - made from bees 🐝 that hang around the lavender. I spotted a few 🐝 here in town for the fete.

The regional viennoisserie of Provence is a sacristin flavored with lavender. Yummy

Of course there is lavender soap

Some bars have actual springs of lavender.

I did not resist buying a bunch...which I'll probably leave in my hotel room (Hotel Sphinx).

I misread and thought there were shuttles to the champs de lavande (fields of lavender) to paint. Wrong! There is a faux champs set up in the town parc and you are meant to paint there. Oh.

For the readers of PB who love tech here's how they distill the essences.

At 4 am this morning I was trying to distill lavender essences of aquarelle...

How to paint lavender?

Which by the way is not at all the sweet, wussie pastel color we think of as 'lavander'.

Its deep purple with bits of green plants and not at all a piece of cake to paint. This series will continue. Have you visited the lavander in Provence?

My work station/atelier at Hotel Sphinx. I tipped the chambre de bonne a tenner NOT to clean my room Please! Let them deal with it after I'm on the train. Bonne chance. Someone asked if I put plastic shower caps on the table (for protection). No, those are freezer bags (from the US and becoming rarer in France). I carry all my materials in them - so handy.

The view out my bathroom window. No wonder Matisse, Bonnard and everyone else painted their windows.

And the piece de resistance!! Fabulous home-made apricot jam bought at the Fete. They grew their own apricots. The Real Deal. I ate so much last night I woke up with a hangover. But oh so worth it. I'm back in Paris late this afternoon. I have to finish the July Paris map before July is over!! Just in case you were wondering. Meantime there's a very nice post on Bonjour Paris on June's ice cream map.
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