Linen in Provence.

linen dress. straw bag. sandals. hat.

I hope you guys don’t mind if I share a few more pieces from our trip to Europe in August.  We went so many places and had so many amazing experiences, and I’m trying to make sure I get them all documented on here and out there for anyone who is planning to visit Europe to use as a resource.  If you have any questions about any of the places we went, go ahead and leave me a comment so I can make sure I cover them.

When we were planning our trip through Europe, one of the places I was most adamant that I wanted to visit was Provence.  I had read so many things about it the region, the antique markets, the culture, and I really wanted to experience a totally different region of France.  And also, go “junk shopping” as my husband would say.  (He has no appreciation for antiques…)

Even with everything I’d read, Provence still surprised me.  We stayed in an Airbnb in this tiny village called Roubion, in what used to be a stone castle, which was very cool.  Provence definitely has a different vibe than other parts of France we’ve visited, its much warmer, dryer, stonier, and is actually kind of a lush desert.  We even saw a scorpion.

While we were in the region we visited, Aix En Provence, Apt, l’Isle sur la Sorge, Avingon, Gordes, Roussillion, and spent the day at the beach in the south of France in a charming little town called Saintes Maries-de-la-Mer.  (Wow, just typing that out makes me tired, we did a lot of stuff in 4 days.)  The stone cities in the hills of Provence are unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.  They feel like they’ve been hewn right out of the mountain, which I guess they basically have.  If you wanted to visit just one of them I would recommend Gordes.  The view was breathtaking and the city was just incredible.  Made pretty much entirely of this pinkish-white stone.  Everything from the roads to the walls to the buildings.  Incredible.  Avingnon was also an amazing stone city.

Down in the flatter areas you have the more colorful towns.  L’isle sur la Sorge was a favorite, so charming and colorful (and has the most amazing market- more on that later). Aix en Provence was pretty and colorful too with amazing shopping, we spent an afternoon exploring the city.

Linen is a must when you are visiting Provence, as even in late August, when the rest of France seemed to be cooling down for fall, it was still quite hot.  I wore this pretty linen wrap dress exploring the stone village where we were staying and also around a couple of the other cities we visited.  It’s such a great versatile summer dress, and I love that I can bring it into fall easily by throwing on a pair of booties, and a leather jacket, denim jacket or a sweater.