Day 7 - The next leg of our journey was to the main area for lavender. Hopefully we would see some fields that had not yet been cut. The first stop of Simian le Rotund was a dud. We were told there are fields of lavender around the village; nothing, not even the plants. We decided to head on and try and find a good field but not much luck so turned around and headed for Sault. As we climbed higher (1000 metres eventually) we got lucky with a good field of lavende...

Day 7 - I started the day with a short 5km run before it got too hot. I can't understand these runners we see out at midday or later; you would have to be mad to run in the blazing heat of the day. After breakfast we set off for Rustrel and the Colorado Provencale. With a choice of three trails from short to rather long we planned to do the short one. However, unwittingly we took the middle length one and only realised when we'd were half way round. Never mind,...

Day 6 - Whilst the other half went for a run I cut some fruit for breakfast. After eating, we headed out to Gordes for its market. We had learnt from the guides that getting there early is key to getting a space as the market takes up the car park in the town centre. The market expands around the town centre area but you have to watch for cars as they still drive through as I soon learnt - they take no prisoners. A mix of stalls many selling local produce, the m...

Day 5 - The rain finally cleared and we decided to head in the direction of sunshine, which meant Menerbes; Peter Mayles old stomping ground. Menerbes is a lovely village with hilly streets, a few restaurants and shops. There are fantastic views across the valley, filled with fields of vines and the odd sunflower crop. It's a great village for the photographer but you would need to get there early to reduce the number of tourists walking into your photos. Lunch ...

Day 5 - Our visit to the Abbaye started following the heavy thunderstorm earlier in the morning. Both of us were woken by a loud thunder clap. As we looked out through the front door we both commented that neither of us had seen a storm quite like it. Lightning occurred almost every couple of seconds and the rain lashed down. But by morning the thunderstorm had cleared the air and dropped the temperature to more bearbale and comfortable levels. It's after effects...