One of our first outings was to l'Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque near Gordes, France. We timed this trip perfectly to hit the lavender blooms and this is a place one must visit if taken by those rows of lavender in Provence. It is a Cistercian abbey dating to 1150. The austerity of the gray stone against the violet rows of lavender is staggering. It is still a functioning abbey - the monks who live here grow the lavender for their livelihood and tend honey bees.
Ma belle Louise admiring the cloisters of the abbey. (What a beauty she has become! So grown up).
We took a full tour and our tour guide was one serious lady. Since it is still a place of prayer and silence, they demand a reverent audience. Colette was the only one who wasn't on board. She loved the way her little screeches resonated in the vast Romanesque spaces. Marguerite tried to convince her to calm. She wasn't about to listen.
4 comments:
I've been there! I did a homestay in Provence when I was 18 and have a photo in that very arch where Mlle Louise is lounging. Ah, la lavende!
Great report. I particularly loved the photo of Marguerite trying to get Colette to be quiet. Priceless!
We did the same tour last week, and we felt "trapped" by the serious (and lovely) tour guide, the door being locked behind us as we entered each room. Some of our group got a little restless in the dormitory (the guide spent 40 minutes alone in that room!) and they were sternly shushed. The sign upon entering the tour lets you know that if children cannot behave properly, they cannot take the tour. LOVE the joy that Collette brought into the space....wish she had been there when I was! All said and done, it is a beautiful beautiful space, very much like St Antimo in Tuscany.
Gorgeous!
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