What is provence?

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PetiteFÃ©e

Provence with a great "P" is a region in the southern part of France.

Please have a look at
http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/provpil.htm

You even get it in English... how lucky you are :-)

To haslo04, thanks for your compliment... however I am not French... I am from Switzerland.

Pastor Dave

Basically, it's the area around Marseilles.

frank

one of the beautiful regions of lovely FRANCE

SK8TERGURL~1~NOT~ 2/davesslave

provenance??
the place or source of origin.
example to prove where a painting has come from you have say you have Provance of other people who owend it all the way back to its first sell from the artist.

haslo

Provence is the southern part of France. Check out the link the cute French chick above left for you. Here is an entry from my blog describing my visit there last summer. Got to see the Abbey!

"Much like in the Pyrenees, we decided to leave the highways behind and get lost in the "backroads of Provence." Our destination was the village of Gordes. Perched on a hill away from any major city, we discovered Gordes to be a perfectly peaceful French getaway. Gordes allowed us to relax and experience the slow life of the French, where all meals come from the freshly prepared ingredients found in the market that very morning. We walked its streets and had a wonderfully fresh baguette with butter and apricot jam for breakfast. After breakfast, we continued our slow trek and drove towards the very place that inspired this whole trip.

Few places have captured my imagination as much as Abbey of Senanque. It is the photograph of this Abbey, which I saw in a calendar in March of 2005, that inspired me to plan our excursion to France. Barcelona, Tour de France and Switzerland were all planned around our visit to the Abbey, for otherwise we would have gone straight to Poland. I don't know what really drew me towards this place. Its location at the end of a single lane road in the small Provencial valley was interesting enough. But the true attraction lied in the sheer and magnetic beauty of the place. You see, the Abbey was founded by Cistercian monks in 1178 and for the past many centuries, lived off tending to lavender. The contrast of the centuries-old walls of this Romanesque structure set against blooming lavender fields provides an unforgettable experience. The fields fill the whole valley with the sweet scent of flowers and the air buzzes with humming of honey bees. In all, the setting provides for a perfect summer day and the visit to the Abbey was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.

We spent about two hours walking the Abbey grounds. The monks know the world they live in and they have a fully staffed boutique selling "everything lavender," to supplement their plantation. During certain hours, one can also enter the Abbey cloisters, but we missed the tour of the day and enjoyed the gardens instead. We then got back into our car and raced back to Avignon to try and catch our train to Geneva...

Some practical information about the Abbey. It is very much off the beaten track and not easy to find. It is located 2 km from Gordes, at the end of a sole access road leading into the nearby valley. Once you get to Gordes, follow the signs. I think the beauty of the place can only be appreciated in the sunny weather, so I do not vouch for the visual experience on a cloudy day. Also, lavender blooms at the end of July, so that is the best time to visit. The monks will not tolerate "indecency," so women can not have exposed shoulders or skirts above the knee prior to entering the Abbey (very pointy shoes are fine). No fear ladies, the entrepreneurial monks provide dark heavy cloth to cover yourselves with, but I would take my own T-shirt and pants instead. We strongly recommend a visit!"

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