Each winter I get to catch up on going through my own photos and particularly in January, I like to look back on colorful (or warm looking) photos. Last year, my husband I had the pleasure of joining a Trek Travel biking trip through the Provence area of France (specifically the Luberon and the Vaucluse). It was the perfect trip for us; a dream realized for my cycling enthusiast hubby, and a veritable photographic and gastronomic heaven for this sensory loving gal.

I’m not sure I can even do it justice, really. Having traveled to nearly 20 countries on 4 continents, I must say that Provence is one of the loveliest places in the world I’ve ever been. As my husband and I biked through olive groves, vineyards, lavender farms and fields of poppies, dotted with medieval hilltop villages, we probably said “wow” about a thousand times. (I know, we’re so profound). Every turn or hilltop panorama, every village we stopped in, every market we visited were all so incredible to us. The colors, the aromas, the vistas, the history, the food… it was nearly overwhelming.

If you know me well, you will know I also have a thing for farmer’s markets. Markets are always a must-do when I visit a new place so I can not only see what makes the place unique, but also taste the local flavors or terroir. Of course, in France, terroir has true meaning (considering it is a French word and referring to the environment or earth in which wine is grown).  Though in Provence, they’re just markets; something the residents have done for probably centuries and not something new fangled and trendy. Everything at the market is truly artisan, and again, not in a trendy throw-back sort of way, but in a real, authentic, my family has been doing this for generations kind of way. Fruit, veggies, eggs, AMAZING cheese & bread, meals, flowers, herbs, linens, soap, wine, and on and on, stall after stall of surprises and wonders. One of my favorite lunches we enjoyed was from the market in Bedoin: olive bread, the most amazing strawberries I’ve ever tasted, Provencal olives, and truffle cheese. Enjoying our finds on a picnic table at the base of the famed Mt. Ventoux, it might as well have been heaven.

Naturally I took hundreds of pictures, so it was nearly impossible to narrow down to just a few favorites, but here they are. If you’d like to see more or would like to purchase some gallery quality prints of anything I have taken, please go to https://carolinemariephoto.zenfolio.com/provence

Please enjoy these slices of color and warmth! Happy 2019!!

*Be a pal and please remember photos here are copyright material and not to be redistributed without permission from moi. Merci