In Provence on the road

This is the classic last-minute trip, decided at 8 on a Thursday morning and finished at 9 on Saturday evening. Having 3 free days, my partner and I decide to pack a bag in a great hurry and, with a full tank, set off for Provence... my dream of seeing the fields of lavender in bloom will finally come true! At 13.30 we are already in Cannes; we leave the motorway and head for Grasse, about fifteen km away, where we decide to make a short stop to see the world capital of perfumes. It definitely deserves a visit, especially inside the old medieval village. Shortly afterwards we set off again for upper Provence, and precisely for Castellane, a lovely village among the mountains of the Verdon, with a nice centre and the Rocher du Verdon, suited to lovers of free climbing.

Continuing on, hugging the beautiful Lac de Castillon with its cold turquoise-blue waters, you can admire it all! From here we continued to Digne-les-Bains, a place famous for its thermal baths and for being the capital of Haute-Provence.

To finish the first day we decided to continue to the Old Town of Sisteron with its walled citadel towering on top of the mountain, where after more than 700 km we decided to stop for the night after a restorative little dinner! On the second day, after a lovely breakfast in a pastry shop in Sisteron and after getting directions at the hotel, we finally headed for the Lavender area, that is the Plateau de Valensole! After about a hundred kilometres we finally arrived on the Valensole plateau, where we at last began to 'enjoy' the beautiful fields cultivated with lavender, an endless sequence of fields from Valensole to Puimoisson and then to Riez, fields of purple lavender interspersed with fields of sunflowers and almond groves, a true delight for the eyes and the sense of smell given the scents in the air! The villages of Valensole, Puimoisson and Riez also deserve a visit, full of Prov

ençal character and rich in lavender products on sale! After a few hours of Lavender we went to see the Lac de Sainte-Croix with its little village, beautiful, full of tourists and people seeking cool refreshment. For the evening we decide to set off and head for Aix-en-Provence, which is a little less than 70-80 km away, and we immediately find a nice hotel (Hotel Le Mulin) 10 minutes from the centre, where we relax with a nice shower and then head back to the centre for a well-deserved dinner.

Aix-en-Provence immediately appears to us as a lovely town, well kept, elegant, one that really recalls the cities and the Provençal way of life, full of little alleys, brasseries, little restaurants, small squares, fountains......it is Cézanne's city, after all! That is why we devote the whole morning of the third day to it, starting from its beautiful cathedral, from the squares which, as it happened to be Saturday, were full of all kinds of little markets, from the fish market to the flower market, the food market, the clothing stalls, the fountains, the beautiful churches of the old part, and here and there a Provençal singer to brighten the atmosphere. A great experience, Provence! Unfortunately around 14.00 we have to set off again for Italy given the distance from our city of Reggio Emilia; we leave nonetheless satisfied and laden with little gifts and lavender products!