Provence

I'm in southeast France, in the Provence region.  I have a girlfriend in Vienna who emailed at Christmastime to see if we could meet somewhere this summer.  We chose Provence, in hopes that the lavendar would be in bloom. 
Sieglinde found this beautiful old stone homestead in the tiny hamlet of Les Martins.  There are three homes contained within high, stone wall; combined they create the place the Dutch owners have named Villa Daesch.  Our house dates from the 1600's and we are in the 2nd floor space. We share a beautiful courtyard with the main house and the other rental home.  It's not uncommon to see these old stone farmsteads that have been fixed up by foreign Europeans or Americans being rented out to tourists.

So far, the lavendar hasn't bloomed, but we made it in time to see the poppies. They are exceptionally healthy and vibrant due to the abundant rain this spring.