Blue of Provence

Provence Blue Lavender fields extended across Will and Joy's feet. Now the plants were full of snow but closing your eyes you could imagine the wonder they must be in summer. Expanses of blue and purple flowers swaying in the wind. Will was in Provence, now it was close to Christmas and around him he could feel the typical ferment of the last days before the party. That's why he had decided to take a break from the frenzy and have a walk in the French countryside. After a walk in the fresh and pungent air, our two heroes arrived at a farmhouse built entirely of stone and used as a restaurant. Will and Joy looked at each other and, without having to say anything else, with their stomachs rumbling, they slipped inside. The interior was furnished in wood, here and there bunches of dried lavender cheered up the rooms and Christmas trees decorated with red apples and glass balls were almost everywhere. Just like in the best French tradition, said a voice behind Will. It was the innkeeper who, seeing Will's admiring gaze, had approached. Did you know that glass Christmas balls were born in France? Long time ago the only decorations were apples, small red apples, firm and fragrant that hung from the branches of the fir trees. But one year, it was 1858, there was a huge drought throughout France and the apple harvest was poor, certainly you couldn't use apples to decorate the tree! Thus it was that, in a French Lorraine village famous for its watch glass factories, a man came up with an idea. It was one of the glass blowers of the factory who every day modeled glass balls, which were then cut to obtain the covers for the watches. But if these blown glass balls could be used instead of apples to decorate the tree, the man wondered. And that's how the Christmas balls were born!

In honor of Will's journey stage here is a tea… with herbs from Provence. Bring a cup of water to a boil, remove from heat and add a teaspoon of dried lavender flowers, a few mint leaves and a pinch of thyme. Let it sit for ten minutes, then filter and drink. Lavender tea is soothing, it helps with insomnia, sadness and anxiety, as has been proven by scientific studies (Chen et al, Worldviews Evid Based Nurs, 2015). Mint is digestive and thyme is rich in antioxidants (Kulisic et al, Int J Food Sci Nutr, 2007 - Begas et al, Food Chem Toxicol, 2017).