Sunflower Fields in France

we thought the team buses might need some directions from us!

We were all too happy after two nights to be moving on from the town of Lourdes and see what Montpellier had in store for us. Once again we spent most of the day in the car, this time going through some beautiful sunflower-laden countryside.

sunflower field - one of my favourite sights in France

One of my aims for this holiday was to be able to frolic in a sunflower field – I had visions of picnicking beside the yellow sea of flowers armed with baguettes and wine. In reality though, most of the fields we saw were on the motorway where we couldn’t stop, so I was beginning to feel like I would never get a chance to run through the beautiful crops. It was actually a few days after our drive from Lourdes to Montpellier when I got any such opportunity; it was the last chance I had, as the rest of our time was to be spent in the Alps where sunflowers aren’t grown, but it was a bleak, rainy day and all of the sunflower fields were sombre, with the flower heads facing the ground as if mourning the sun’s absence with us. At last, in the afternoon we found a field which was accessible, and where the flowers were gingerly raising their heads. I made Brendan stop and had my moment of gambolling – although I have to say it wasn’t as pleasant as I had hoped; mud, bugs and prickly stalks hindered any actual frolicking, but I was happy nonetheless!

at last! frolicking in the sunflowers!

surrounded by sunflowers

…but I digress! Back to day 8: we arrived in Montpellier after being stuck in traffic on the motorway for far too long, had a quick dinner in the main square, and dropped Christian at the airport for his flight back to London. Then we settled into our accommodation and got some sleep, ready for another Tour de France viewing adventure the following day!