En route, the landscape is dry, crisp, and parched; sunflowers hang their droopy heads nearly to the ground, and the once golden wheat fields are now faded and harvested into large bales of brittle straw. Farmers on tractors toil in the distance leaving behind clouds of dust.  There's new development in the distance, new home construction, solar panels, greenhouses, and wind turbines scattered across the thirsty landscape, even a chateau in the faraway.

I arrive at Avignon Centre amid the country’s fourth heat wave deemed the worst drought on record. Most days the temperatures reach 103-110° with wildfires looming in the south of France, burning coveted olive trees and forests. French farmers are experiencing a dramatic decline in the production of soy, sunflowers, and corn yields; and three times less lavender oil will be extracted from this year’s harvest due to the extreme, prolonged drought. It takes 150 kilograms of flowers for one liter of lavender oil and many essential oil farmers are forgoing the labor-intensive oil extraction and selling varieties of dried sachet and bundles of lavender as an alternative. The brunt of this drought has dramatically altered the production of French products we love so much, milk, cheese, wine and olives.

This drought has caused European countries to restrict water usage where watering is only allowed for vegetables and fruits. Shipping is currently endangered on the Rhine, Germany’s biggest waterway, as well as the Danube and Po rivers. Some cargo loads are only one-fifth the amount, due to the shallow water levels. Luckily, in a few days I will sail on the Rhône River where the water level is adequate.

My accommodations are at Le Limas for the next few nights, inside the ramparts of Avignon; where the proprietor has arranged a taxi to meet me at the station. My Oui driver weaves his way through the historical streets filled with day trippers, tourists, and theater performers from the month-long Theatre Festival, one of the biggest in the world.

After settling in I have a quiet evening and dinner with Carolyne Kauser-Abbott, editor of Perfectly Provence   at the lovely Restaurant Le Violette.  She and her husband are part-time residents in the South of France and by happenstance, our schedules coincide. Perfectly Provence is a food, travel, and lifestyle magazine for the South of France and the French Riviera. There are many writers for this online in-depth resource, and I’ve had the privilege to be a contributor. We share an evening of conversation, travel adventures, good food, laughter, and refreshing Alpilles rosé.

Continue this journey by subscribing to www.scribblesandsmiles.net or follow on Instagram and Facebook. Join me in discovering two of the most beautiful villages of France: Gordes, Les Baux de Provence.  And the quaint villages of L' Isle sur la Sorgue, and Saint Rèmy de Provence before boarding a European River Cruise. Where I will sail on the Rhône and Saône rivers through Burgundy & Provence, once again.