Port of Call: Provence, France

I'm happy to say, I'm writing to you today with a much clearer head. Although, by 8pm every night, I can barely keep my head up and eyes open. Crazy how much jet lag has affected me this time around...maybe it's a getting older thing? #yayaging

It took a full day just to sort through all our photos, and I have so many things to share with you...including the Princess cruise ports, my travel style, food, and packing tips. If there are specific requests or questions you have about the trip, cruise, countries, etc...feel free to leave them in the comments and I'll work them into future posts. Based on the response to my Instagram posts while we were there, you guys want lots of details!

It really was a spectacular trip, not just for the amazing itinerary and experiences, but for the new friendships made. Princess Cruises assembled a stellar group of bloggers, and we all immediately bonded, giving our time together a feeling reminiscent of summer camp. Today I'm excited to start things off with one of our favorite stops, the third port on our itinerary...Provence, France. (I talked about why this spot is so special to me here.)

The port is actually Marseilles, France, and we were lucky enough to book a private car and English-speaking guide through Princess Excursions...so we spent our day exploring as many of the quant villages and countryside of the Provence region as we could. Cassandra and I simply told our guide we wanted to venture far from the crowds and tourists, but stay close enough in proximity to make the most of the allotted time we had in port, and she chose St. Remy, L'Isle-Sur-Sorgue, Lourmarin and Roussillon.

The villages each had their own personality, but all were so charming and quant, they didn't seem real. Seriously, sometimes it felt as though we were walking through a Disney park! Except everyone spoke French and the food was 1000 times better. ;)

We got lucky, and happened to be there on a Wednesday...the one day each week St. Remy has it's celebrated market. It was hard not to spend an hour at each booth...the smells and tastes were unreal...but we had lots to see in a day, so we kept moving.

Of course I chose to wear stripes that day, because France. Another perk of having a driver, is you can store things in the car without having to haul them around all day. Even so, I still chose a small cross body bag to carry my daily things, like wallet, phone, sunglasses, and lipstick. This blush bag coordinated well with all my outfits, and held a surprising amount considering it's small size.

Striped Tee | Favorite White Jeans (hemmed for ankle-length) | Jean Jacket Sunglasses | Watch | Favorite Sneakers (size down half-size) | Crossbody Bag
As we wandered the quiet, spotless streets and alleyways, I couldn't help but think about the people who call these villages home, and what their day-to-life was like. Was it as idyllic as it looked? Could they hardly believe their good fortune to wake up each day there, or was it a hardship to live so simply?

I picked up this market bag, and filled it with soaps, creams and treats for our parents back home.

Striped Tee | Favorite White Jeans (hemmed for ankle-length) Sunglasses | Watch | Favorite Sneakers (size down half-size)

Striped Tee | Favorite White Jeans (hemmed for ankle-length) | Jean Jacket Sunglasses | Watch | Favorite Sneakers (size down half-size) | Crossbody Bag

Striped Tee | Favorite White Jeans (hemmed for ankle-length) | Jean Jacket Sunglasses | Watch | Favorite Sneakers (size down half-size) | Crossbody Bag
You could spend weeks in this region and never see it all, especially the countryside, which is just as magical as the villages.

We couldn't help but stop at all the poppy and lavender fields, which were still a few weeks from blooming, but still smelled incredible. I guess we'll just have to go back for the blooms someday!

Have you been to Provence? Do you have any requests or questions regarding our trip you want me to include in future posts?


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*This post is created in collaboration with Nordstrom, but all clothing, ideas, and lavender-obsessing are my own. Thank you for supporting Hi Sugarplum sponsors.*