get lost running down lavender fields in the southern french countryside of provence. sun down low, light in a golden glow that will make you remember the moment. for infinity.

on the last day of our spring break road trip, we had one dreamy goal in mind: we wanted to run down lavender fields in the southern french countryside of provence. dreamy, a little bit because it was up to the stars and fate whether we’d actually see blooming purple lavender by the end of may, and dreamy, because bees well… simply love them.

the four of us looked back. saying goodbye to our little campsite we had for two nights by the coast on a peninsula. our serene minds deeply relaxed, feeling more like we’ve been out there for weeks.

we all still knew we had 600 miles ahead of us to drive home, almost each one of us were a little bit in a state of denial - to be back home on monday for work, a part of us wished we could just stay, at the place where there is no time. it was not until noon when we decided to set out on the journey back home again, leaving the giens peninsula for winding down the countryside roads of provence.

when we finally made it to our destination, a village called sault - it has always been the top choice on the internet if you want to see the lavender bloom - we saw lavender. but suddenly realized the slap of reality in our naive heads - the lavender was still green! we weren’t sad - after all it leaves us an incentive to come back soon. but at least poppy flowers were blooming, and we have found some wild lavender on a mountain pass.

since it was a europe-wide holiday, the cars were, just like us, lining up to go home on a sunday evening. on our way back, I had to work around the highway, which, most of the time, rather just felt like we were moving forward mentally. so we were driving country roads. and they once again reminded me of how much better they are than highways: first, they avoid traffic jams (mentally). second, they are free - french and italian highways are toll roads. third, you get to see whatever is beautiful on the road, and you can just stop for anything authentic and local. we just barely made our way out of the provence when we drove into a small town called orange to get some ice cream. evelyne was feeling a little under the weather, and some ice cream was exactly what we all needed.

and this is the moment when life fills you with the greatest surprises. almost like it’s meant to be. and the magic it brings makes you believe that wonders truly exist. in the last minutes with the sun down low, in gold, almost orange, before she was gone, our countryside road became narrow so I slowed down. looking to the left, I saw a field of lavender. and it was blooming! never have i ever pulled over my car this quick as we ran into the field. we slowly watched the sun go down, danced around, of course took a lot of photos and realized how foolish it was of us that we were still in the south of france, 9 pm.

in the final hours of our trip, our team work has never been stronger, taking turns driving until we arrived home at 4 am the next morning. no lavender was harmed.

with 🐝 by frank.