We spent 3 days touring theLavender Fields of Provence, passing through the lavender areas of Pay de Digne, Valensole, Forcalquier, and Apt. The photo here is from the Pays de Valensole, near the villages ofValensoleand Puimoisson.

Apart from the vast fields of lavender around the Valensole Plateau, we saw many smaller fields tucked away here and there. NearApt, the lavender fields include bories. Near Gordes, theSenanque Abbeyhas its own picturesque lavender field.

By Russ Collins

(Courtesy kworth30/Flickr ) Upload your photos. We may feature them. We’ve been asking top guidebook writers for their alternatives to iconic attractions. Today’s writer is Anna Brooke, author of Frommer’s Paris Day by Day and Frommer’s Provence & the Riviera Day by Day . Her recommended alternative to the Eiffel Tower is… …Montparnasse Tower The Eiffel Tower may be the quintessential symbol of Paris. But for magnificent views of Paris that actually include G
By current.newsweek.com

PARIS – If you’re planning an expedition to equatorial Africa or a yachting holiday in the south of France, Paris’ spring-summer 2010 menswear catwalks had just the look for you Saturday. Two Paris-based luxury labels, Kenzo and Hermes, drew inspiration from an explorer and the sun of Provence for sumptuous collections heavy on linen trousers [...]
By gotaccesssecrets.com

A Question From Behind the Glass Nancy Rosenbaum, Associate Producer Most of the time, Krista is not physically in the same room with the person she’s interviewing. This was the case during her recent conversation with geophysicist Xavier Le Pichon, who lives in southern France. She spoke with him from Studio P in Saint Paul while he was an ocean away in another studio in Aix-en-Provence . A typical Krista Tippett interview lasts 90 minutes, give or take. Mitch, our senior producer, u
By blog.speakingoffaith.org

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Beyond's page for theCistercian Abbey de Thoronetis vastly improve (not the abbey itself). We've expanded the text with a lot of new information, and replaced the original 4 medium-sized photos with 18 larger and improved photos.
Some of our photos are from previous trips to the abbey, in 1995 and 2003, but most are from our visit there last Saturday.
We also visited theSenanque Abbey in the Vauclusea couple of weeks ago, and will be updating that page soon with new photos and text. We&#39

By Russ Collins

The outcasts are on the world stage again: the third Viva World Cup, for associations unaffiliated with FIFA, got underway this week. It’s being held in the northern Italian cities of Verona, Brescia and Varese. You might remember our post on the 2008 Viva World Cup hosted by Sápmi in Gällivare, Sweden won by Padania and featuring five teams. This was an improvement on the three who actually made it to participate in the inaugural 2006 Viva World Cup in Occitania, out of the six originally
By pitchinvasion.net

Another Var village,Sainte Anastasie-sur-Issole, has been added to Beyond. This is a small village in a very attractive setting.

By Russ Collins

When I heard there was going to be an inaugural voyage for the recently refubished Club Med 2 sailboat, I was so excited to go, that I actually invited myself to come along. Since the trip was a press preview, with a sprinkling of the rich and perhaps famous to rub elbows with, and since I lived so close, I saw no reason why I shouldn’t be able to easily race down to catch some sunshine, and participate in the buzz—cruising past St. Tropez , Cannes , Nice , and Portofino . S
By davidlebovitz.com

Priory Country Lodge, Tasmania; W Hong Kong, Hong Kong; Park Hyatt Shanghai, Shanghai; and Six Senses Destination Spa, Phuket; are among the 45 resorts named in Travel+Leisure’s It List 2009 of best new hotels around the globe. This year, the It List focuses on destinations closer to home with several hotels located in the Asian and South Pacific region, including one in Australia. The It List, chosen by Travel+Leisure’s editors, is one of the most influential directories of the world’s best
By jetsettersblog.com