We are at least 2 weeks early. Those lavender fields when abloom make postcard-perfect sceneries. Yeah, I’ve seen the postcards, the posters, the photos. I’ve even watched the video clips! But we’re too early. Abbaye Notre Dame de Senanque drew out cash from our pockets as we enjoyed their shops but no luck with those lavender fields. Just the same, this 12th century abbey near Gordes, is still a functioning abbey run by Cistercian monks who hold spiritual retreats and pray 7 times a day. We prayed that next visit we make, the field of lavender would bloom so profusely for us.

What we dream of vs reality

But Gordes was truly a surprise. Apos each love Ménerbes and Roussillon but their grandma favours Gordes more. We even chanced upon a wedding in the local church at the time we visited. As Italians proclaim “La dolce vita”, the Frenchies say “La vie est belle”. Life is beautiful indeed. And the locals here in Gordes exude that relaxed way a la Provençal!

Named one of the most beautiful villages in the Luberon area — alongside Ménerbes and that red city Roussillon — it is quite an experience weaving through its narrow, cobblestoned streets while spotting a Renaissance castle, some fountains, a flight of stairs to get from one level to another, emerging onto tiny plazas and a spotting of impressive maison or mansions and chateaus here and there.

Oh, Provence! Have I actually romanticised you or are you really such a beautiful province of France? Between the Rhone and the Mediterranean, I “hear” and sense your cultural identity speaking much louder in the countryside than in the big cities. Luberon Valley is truly a gem and we can just imagine how even lovelier you must be in July when those fields of lavender are abloom in all its splendour. For now, we’d settle for poppies, the fragrant jasmine flowers, some other spring blooms and the occasional sunflowers. The young lavenders, we smell you as you start to sprout, and that’s enough for now.