One is kinda frivolous actually. I think i have been slightly brainwashed by L'Occitane ads and tourist postcards to think that Provence is synonymous with LAVENDER LAND. So like we were quite baffled (when we drove past some fields and took pics in midst of the lavender) why the very recognisable scent of lavender couldn't be detected at all at any of these spots.. Halfway thru the trip J decided to experiment with one lil stalk she picked... We sniffed pretty hard, but still no smell leh. One middle-aged French guy apparently noticed our 'antics' and gestured with his fingers to rub the lavender 'buds'... and voila! We smelt the fresh lavender fragrance immediately! It totally didn't occur to us that the scent had to be 'released'... cos I guess too used to smelling the processed lavender oils/ lavender satchets. But made me wonder how come the lavender satchets smell go good... have they all been pre-rubbed heh? :P
The second one was closer to my heart... Met up with Jeannice on the later part of the trip and had a really fun time hanging out together and catching up... Though (similar to J when we visited her in Japan last year) she initially had some initial reservations abt being a light bulb, her company was really enjoyable - and it prompted Derek & I to do stuff we prob otherwise wldn't have... like dining at the top few trip advisor restaurants more than half the time; disappearing into interesting stores we may not have stopped to explore etc.
The last one and most significant one involves a cute little Provencal hedgehog named "Sweet Hubert" we met on the trip... was somewhat smitten by his cuteness when I first sighted him at a souvenir shop. I took pics for keepsakes... and thought that was the last I'd see of him.
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| Hubert in my hands, his friend on D's shoulder... |
