The Final Stop – The Lavender Fields in Provence

August 25, 2015

After the Kayla Barker Workshop, we said our thank you’s and goodbye’s and headed back into Paris on a high speed train. Upon arrival, we walked about two miles through Paris (while dragging a semi-broken suitcase) to the other train station in the city. Probably not the most convenient, but hey, we got to see a little bit of Paris rather than sitting in the train station!

We took a four hour train to Marsaille, in the south of France and arrived at our adorable bed and breakfast – Les Acanthes. Odile, the owner, greeted us and we chatted on the patio, sipping on white wine and munching on snacks. Odile had lived there her whole life – the building was 400 years old. It was such a tranquil escape from the city. Over the course of our stay, we heard stories of her family and her trek to the base camp of Everest! This woman was a rockstar. She said something like, “When I was young, I went out and traveled the world. Now that I’m older, the world comes and travels to me.”

During the days, Thomas and I hopped into the car and drove the find the lavender fields. Every turn we took, we would look for the fields. Then – we saw our first one! (For the record – Valensole was the best spot for them!) We pulled over immediately and walked between the rows. The field was humming with bees – which normally would terrify me, but I was so excited! This was a huge bucket list item for me! And let me tell you – I frolicked in the fields. Check! To top it off, there were sunflower fields that went on for miles! I was so excited and so in awe of the beauty. I could hardly stand myself.

Every day we would drive for hours and explore. One night we found ourselves in a tiny town on top of a mountain. Not allowed to drive through it, we parked our car and walked through the town. We didn’t see a soul – it was beautiful. I couldn’t believe places like this still existed.

I also spent some time teaching Thomas how to use the Contax (our film camera) and we recently bought one for him – so a lot of the photos you’ll see below are actually his! We can’t wait to incorporate even more film into our wedding package!

On our last night, we met up with Kayla and her husband, Clint, and had them take our photos. (Hey – practice what you preach!) We have our photos taken every year, just to know what it feels like for all of you to be on the other side of the lens. 🙂

After four days in Marsaille, we headed to the airport and said “au revoir’ to France and all of our vacation time! Thanks for the memories, Europe! Until next time!

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