After stopping for lunch in Avignon, we drove to St Remy, a small, artsy village in southern France.

We had rented a room above the Point Rouge art gallery, and Stefan and Olivier greeted us warmly, showed us to the most beautifully unique room of our trip so far, invited us to explore the gallery any time day or night, and reminded us that breakfast would be serve in one of the gallery’s rooms each morning.

We settled in and started our agenda for Three Days in Provence!

Day 1: Find some lavender fields.

Lavender is typically harvested in July, and now it was August, but we drove toward Valensole, hoping to find at least one remaining field. We passed fields of sunflowers, fields of hay, and small villages, but only empty fields where the lavender had already been harvested.

No luck, but it was a beautiful day for a drive, so we continued further north toward Banon, hoping that some lavender remained. Driving down one lane, we saw that a young couple had pulled over to take photos in a field.

YES! It was a field of lavender! We pulled in and waved as they left and waved back, all of us smiling like fools because we had found the very last of the lavender for this season!

We hadn’t eaten all day, so next we pulled into Banon, and though the café was fairly empty, a helpful waiter offered to get us a meat and cheese platter and a salad. They were tremendous, and we toasted our good fortune with glasses of rosé.

We spent the night in our gallery, had breakfast with a group of young tourists from Switzerland, and then continued with our plan.

Day 2: Visit the Chateauneuf-du-Pape (former residence of the Avignon Popes) and drink some Chateauneuf-du-Pape (wine).

Leaving St Remy for our next pilgrimage, we drove toward the foothills of the French Alps.

In this beautiful setting, we stopped for a wine tasting at Chateau Romanin. Our clerk was delightful and we enjoyed sampling wines from this part of Provence before getting back on the road to head northwest on today’s mission.

It was a lovely drive to Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and we first stopped at Chateau La Nerthe winery and waited for a bit since a “We’ll be back” sign was on the door. Nobody returned, so we drove into the town of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, in search of the chateau.

Partway through town we parked in a huge field full of cars, and started walking the winding roads and steep staircases. By working our way up and up we were finally able to find the remains of the chateau at the top of the hill.

We took photos, enjoyed the view, and then found a nearby restaurant for a relaxing lunch in the shade.

After lunch, we had a wonderful tasting at Chateau Fortia, then back to Chateau Nerth (it was now open) and then we stopped at Clos du Calvaire for one last tasting. The driver of a large bus parked by the tasting room told us that there were 35 people inside, so we turned to leave. The clerk saw us and came out the door and encouraged us to come in, as the 35 were in a different room. We enjoyed a nice tasting in the quiet, calm tasting room.

After a successful two days, we had a relaxing Day 3: We spent the day wandering St Remy.

The town has beautiful streets, with cool fountains, alleyway cafés, and amazing restaurants.

There is a whimsical charm that you feel every time you turn a corner and see the art, music, and fun events – including an outdoor concert where the DJs and concertgoers all wore headsets, so it was silent in the neighborhood as they danced under flashing lights.

And last but not least, our gallery was absolutely wonderful, with the sometimes eerie, yet lovely works that greeted us every morning.

Provence was beautiful and a memorable part of our travels!