Quick Update

So lots has been happening, but most of my limited internet time is devoted to job applications and emails so the blog has suffered. Here's the biggest thing that has happened in the past weeks. Lisa and I went to Avignon. I have wanted to see the lavender in bloom in Provence for a long time so I pushed it and we went. There's another assistant there that I've been trying to meet up with for 9 months, but the distance and our busy schedules didn't allow it so it was nice to meet her too. She's old enough to rent a car, God bless her, so we even had a better trip than I had hoped. The lavander wasn't in full bloom everywhere like it usually is this time of year due to bad weatehr, but it was still pretty great.
First we stopped at the Lavender Museum. We didn't take the hour long tour but we did stop in the gift shop where we learned that there are actually two kinds of lavender. So it was still an educational first stop.

Then it was back into the car to go find us some lavender! The driver is Nicole, passenger's seat is another Avignon assistant, Emily, and that's Lisa in the back.

Randomly driving along we saw this at the side of the road. So we pulled off and took some photos. The weather was a LOT different than Lisa and I are used to. Look at that sun! Luckily neither of us got sunburnt. We did however sweat more than we ever have before I think. It was over 90 degrees!!! Not that we were totally complaining, it was a very welcome change. But going from a city where pants, a t-shirt and two blankets are needed to sleep to a place where you're so sweaty and sticky it's hard to sleep is a big change.
And that's the craziest part about France! We took the TGV (high speed train) from Paris and we went from wearing jackets to sweating and squinting in about 3.5 hours. The return train was a direct TGV and only took 2 hours.
There were snails all over the lavender too. Ooops, sorry, this is acutally lavandine. Lavander is less common and has a much stronger scent. It grows all over the world.

We drove around for a while more and then went to my number one stop for the trip: the Abbaye de Senanque. I'm sure you've seen photos of it with rows of lavender in front of it. There's actually a wheat field directly in front... But it's all lavender behind that so if you're a little farther away it looks like it's all lavender. Unfortunately that bad weather meant I didn't get my postcard perfect picture. It meant I got a postcard. But it was still pretty and I could imagine what it will look like in 2 or 3 weeks.
Then we went on to the city of Gordes. Tiny little village where we got amazing ice cream. I love the combination of chocolate and cinnamon and they had it! I really enjoy Emily's face in this shot. Is sums up just how good ice cream tastes at 4pm on a 95 degree day.
That's Gordes from the road outside the village. Very cute.

And the group with the valley in the background. Notice we found the one spot of shade in the area.
On the way back to Avignon Lisa spotted this fabulous lavandine patch...
...literally on the side of the road. We decided it would make a great souvenir and Emily was brave enough to battle the ditch and the bees to cut each of us a nice bouquet. It's hanging in my apartment now. I had hoped it would help make my apartment smell better. Unfortunately my apartment is a force to be reckoned with because even though the lavandine smell is almost overwhelming elsewhere in my apartment you have to literally bury your nose in it.
Avignon was also having a big music festival that night so Lisa and I got to see the city at night and listen to some fun music. All in all it was a really great, and very tiring, trip. It was also my last big trip before I return to the USofA in 8 (that's right EIGHT!!) days.
But there's something much more dangerous than trips in France right now. As of 8am this morning the Summer Soldes have started. That's right folks... every store from Calais to Strasbourg to Bordeaux to Marseilles is having HUGe sales. Pretty much 50 to 70 percent off everything. Very dangerous. So I'm off to brave les rues...