France: Avignon

Provence is a magical part of France. I wish that we had more time to spend here and explore more of the little towns around Provence. This is the area of France that is known for its beautiful lavender fields in July. I wish we had gotten to see them but we were just behind the season.

Avignon is a perfectly lovely town. It has a small town, countryside town feel and has some of the best food that I've had this year! We loved this one restaurant so much that we went there twice in two days.     Avignon is also the home of the Palais de Papes. I had no idea about this (raised Catholic...oops!) but it was extremely interesting. When a French pope was elected he didn't think that Rome was an appropriate place to house the Catholic church so he began building the Palais de Papes in Avignon. It took 30 years to build and housed 9 popes.

One of the best things of Avignon was the shopping. There are so many adorable stores a lot of them selling things for your home, kitchen or bath products. I bought lavender lotion made with real lavender from the fields in Provence and it is definitely the best lotion I've had to date. My favorite store was full of different food products like house made speculoos, nutella, caramels, and honey. You can also bottle your own oils and vinegars. Best idea ever. The weather was perfect and we spoiled ourselves by getting massages one morning at the hotel. It was a perfect end to our vacation traveling. 

 Zucchini and parmesan crumble, quinoa and salad. Baked mango tart.