Pure Provence flair: a cottage garden with a stone house, lavender and fragrant herbs, discovered in the Drôme provençale. The gorse glows yellow next to the purple of the lavender fields. The leaves of the olive groves glisten silver-green. Karst slopes and rocky villages duck under the blue firmament.
The untamed Drôme flows turquoise blue through the region between the Rhône valley, the foothills of the Alps and Provence. The Département Drôme shows with a firework of colours: this is where the south of France begins. As early as the 17th century, France's most famous letter writer raved about this region: the Marquise de Sévigné. After her beloved daughter Françoise d'Adhémar married the Comte de Grignan in 1669 and disappeared with him to distant Provence in 1671, the highly educated Madame not only wrote 750 letters to the south, but also spent several months in the summer with her daughter at the castle of Grignan.
To this day, it rises majestically from a huge field of lavender.  And I found this idyll in one of the gardens at its feet.
                                
 
                                Hello and welcome! Here are the best photos I've ever taken: Hilke - a true Hamburg girl with a lot of France in her heart. I trained as an editor and, after two decades with various publishing houses, I've been working as a freelance journalist for print, .. Read more…
 
                         The Gorges de Galamus (66), jewel of the Corbières-Fenouillèdes Regional Natural ParkHilke Maunder
The Gorges de Galamus (66), jewel of the Corbières-Fenouillèdes Regional Natural ParkHilke Maunder The Abbey of St-Martin-du-Canigou in the Eastern PyreneesHilke Maunder
The Abbey of St-Martin-du-Canigou in the Eastern PyreneesHilke Maunder Natural jewel of the Pyrenees: Pont d'EspagneHilke Maunder
Natural jewel of the Pyrenees: Pont d'EspagneHilke Maunder The Étable d'Ossau in the PyreneesHilke Maunder
The Étable d'Ossau in the PyreneesHilke Maunder Herald of spring: red poppyHilke Maunder
Herald of spring: red poppyHilke Maunder The harbour of Fécamp in NormandyHilke Maunder
The harbour of Fécamp in NormandyHilke Maunder The Canal du Midi in the Département of AudeHilke Maunder
The Canal du Midi in the Département of AudeHilke Maunder Paradise: the Île Saint-Marguerite in the MediterraneanHilke Maunder
Paradise: the Île Saint-Marguerite in the MediterraneanHilke Maunder Pointu boats in Nice, Côte d'AzurHilke Maunder
Pointu boats in Nice, Côte d'AzurHilke Maunder Fishing boats in the harbour of CassisHilke Maunder
Fishing boats in the harbour of CassisHilke Maunder Cooya Beach in QueenslandHilke Maunder
Cooya Beach in QueenslandHilke Maunder In the mudflats at Mont-Saint-MichelHilke Maunder
In the mudflats at Mont-Saint-MichelHilke Maunder The Southern Ocean near Esperancem Western AustraliaHilke Maunder
The Southern Ocean near Esperancem Western AustraliaHilke Maunder Hamelin Bay, Western AustraliaHilke Maunder
Hamelin Bay, Western AustraliaHilke Maunder The coast at Coral Bay, Western AustraliaHilke Maunder
The coast at Coral Bay, Western AustraliaHilke Maunder Curious emu in Victoria, AustraliaHilke Maunder
Curious emu in Victoria, AustraliaHilke Maunder The Australian Outback, Northern TerritoryHilke Maunder
The Australian Outback, Northern TerritoryHilke Maunder Off-road in the outback, Western AustraliaHilke Maunder
Off-road in the outback, Western AustraliaHilke Maunder The sun dances on the lake of Hourtin-CarcansHilke Maunder
The sun dances on the lake of Hourtin-CarcansHilke Maunder Blooming sunflowers, south of FranceHilke Maunder
Blooming sunflowers, south of FranceHilke Maunder