Sadly we drove away from Saint Paul de Vence only to come upon another enchanting medieval village, Tourrettes sur Loup, also known as the “City of Violets.” The village sits on top of a hill overlooking gorgeous views and when in season violets. The village was built in the 11th century to cultivate violets. The village carries on their tradition of harvesting violets to make violet candies, violet ice cream, violet syrups, and even violet soaps. As many of the other villages along France, many artists, musicians, and writers found inspiration here within the village walls. We arrived to the village during the middle of lunch time (most of the French tend to observe lunch breaks from 12:30-2:30), so I found myself wandering the village completely alone. Of course thoughts were running through my head “Is this safe, should I be alone?” “I can hear people talking, but see no one,” “Should I turn around?” Instead I let my curiosity get the best of me and roamed the village alone photographing this magical moment, when the village presented itself in all its raw beauty, bare and alone, until the very end when I finally came across a violet ice cream shop. I will forever hold the quiet streets and solitary exploration (seems to be the theme of this French journey) of Tourretts sur Loup in my heart.
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