On Thursday we were pretty excited about John's nephew Ben and his partner Iris coming to visit us from London the following day. They flew in to Beziers airport around noon, and despite an airport security incident just managed to catch the TGV from there to Perpignan. We drove in to Perpignan train station to collect them. We last saw Ben at John's mother's 80th birthday family gathering in February in Hanmer Springs, but it was the first time we'd met Iris. They are a lovely couple and we had a great time together over the next few days.
After showing them the apartment when we got home, sharing some bubbles and introducing them to some of the wonderful pastries on offer here, we all went for a walk around Ceret, including showing B&I the Capuchin convent we were interested in buying at one stage. An easy meal at the pizzeria in the square below us set the tone for a cruisy weekend.
After a latish start on Saturday morning we were all out and about at the morning market, followed by a coffee to soak up the atmosphere properly! Time was ticking by so at midday we retraced the short distance to our apartment, collected our swim gear and headed off to the coast. John and I used to go to the main plage or the small coves of Le Racou when we go to the beach, but Collioure is such a picturesque place, and full of life and buzz, that we just had to take B & I there. Thankfully the summer hordes of tourists had thinned out a lot but we still had to hunt for a place with available seating for lunch. We found a nice little restaurant, but had to sit indoors - a shame on such a lovely warm day but nice and quiet and cool. Two hours later, after a very enjoyable meal, we hit the beach. At 3pm the temperature was lovely, in the late 20s, and the water, at 22-23 degrees, was perfect. We all had a good swim. It was time to head home just before 5pm, but not before topping up on a delicious ice-cream. A great day. Back home J&I chilled while B&I went for a wander around town in the evening. J&I whipped up a light Asian salad with duck for dinner, with Piments del Padron as an entree. Iris couldn't say no to more blackberries for dessert. They were disappearing in large numbers from the stock in our freezer. It had been found earlier in the morning that blackberries inside croissants make for a perfect breakfast.
The same recipe was followed for breakfast on Sunday morning, after another late start. B&I loved the relaxed pace of Ceret and slept very well. At their request we set off for another walk that morning. We did a one hour loop which gave a bit of a view looking down on Ceret and giving a good idea of its setting in the Pyrenees foothills. A coffee to recharge the batteries allowed just enough time to enjoy a bread and cheese lunch, with multiple cheeses to try. At 2pm it was time to jump in the car and take B&I to the airport at Perpignan. At 36 degrees in Perpignan, it ensured a tough homecoming back in London where the weather was a chilly 12 degrees and raining!
Monday was a bit of a slack day, though we fronted up for our 18-month check-up with a local dentist. The cost here is cheaper than NZ, and the dentist is great. Other than that, we seem to be spending endless time trying to plan renting out both our property in Nelson and also here. We're also organising a trip to meet up with our son in Japan in March, as a cheaper and more fun alternative than going back this year through San Francisco. Renting both places at the same time in March will definitely helps fill the coffers. Back to our sprint/walksession before breakfast on Tuesday, before meeting up with an English friend who is heading away from Ceret to live in NZ next month. Her son had just flown out from Wellington to help her finish off clearing her house and packing her bags.
Wednesday was a huge day. About 5 years ago we'd tackled a major climb up to Pic de Saint Christophe, on the ridge of the Pyrenees just a little to the northeast of Ceret. Last time we originally declared we'd never try it again because it was so unrelentingly steep and took a solid 2hrs to get to the top. However, the views once we arrived at the top were simply stunning. We could survey Ceret nestled in the foothills to the west, over the border into Spain in the south, all the way to the coast in the east, and well north of Perpignan on the plains to the north. Simply outstanding. Hence, considering ourselves pretty fit at the moment we decided to tackle the climb again before we left Ceret for the year. We drove to Montesquieu-des-Alberes, about 20 minutes away, and started the climb. It hadn't got any less steep during the last five years! In fact, the last heave of about 20 minutes almost did us in. It is definitely the most demanding walk we have ever done. Are we getting old, or what?
 |
| It was steep |
 |
| Really steep. |
However, the reward at the top made up for the exhaustion. Picnicking so high up, on a cloudless day, with no wind and very clear skies was magical.
 |
| Looking westward, Ceret in the distance (centre) |
 |
| Looking south into Spain, the highway viaduct scything through the valley |
 |
| View north. Multiple towns on the plains, with Perpignan in the distance (right) |
 |
| View east to the Mediterranean coast |
 |
| The coloured caps are to alert hunters we are in the area - it's now hunting season |
After an hour we set off back down, though going down the rough steep track for another 2 hours was just as difficult as going up. It was with no little relief that we finally arrived back at the car. Back in Ceret, it was quite an ask to climb the stairs up to our apartment. It is fair to say that we were virtually immobile for the rest of the evening.
After yesterday's effort we considered we could give ourselves a day off our routine morning hour's walk. I'm not sure we could have done it anyway! Breakfast in bed was a treat. On Thursday we did manage a walk, albeit a little stiffly. One of our friends, the woman doctor from Stockholm (recently retired) who bought our first apartment in Place de l'Eglise, asked if we could show her some of the walks we do. She's a real goer, in fact was out with a bunch of Catalan men hunting sanglier (pigs) the day before. We took her on a 90-minute loop we do and enjoyed plenty of talk on the way. She may even be coming out to NZ in December and perhaps call into Nelson and see us. She's a lot of fun.
The rest of the days during the week were spent starting to pack up all our gear here in preparation for leaving next week. On Friday we reckoned we could tackle a last one of our sprint/walk sessions - tackle it 'yes' but achieve it convincingly, 'no'. We were still a bit stiff, however, it was good to be back out stretching our legs.
In recent days we have taken opportunities to catch up with a number of our friends to enjoy a last drink, coffee or meal together before we head off. On Wednesday we had lunch with a Scottish couple. We met them last year rather by chance at Bar Pablo and really hit it off. They are coming and going from Ceret just as often as we are but we managed to catch up for a coffee together in May this year, and were keen to have a longer catch-up over lunch sometime. They live permanently in a town halfway between Ceret and the coast, but spend a lot of time in Scotland visiting family, and also travelling around the world. They're off to Sydney for 2 months in January. Eric is a serious boating buff and we wouldn't be surprised if they book to spend a month or so in Auckland during the America's Cup in 2021.
By Friday evening we pretty much had our packing sorted - split between only a cabin bag for Fez (first 10 days), travelling with the car in Spain for the next few weeks, and what could be left in our big travel wheelie backpacks in Ceret to be collected on the last day in October. We will be over-nighting here when we have to come back and park the car in a garage we rent in a nearby town. We can do a final re-juggle of our bags then.
A shortish walk on Saturday morning saw us sit down at our favourite cafe in amongst the market. It will be our last market here for a long time. We'd arranged to meet up for coffee at 11am with a Swedish/Norwegian couple that we know well. We ended up talking (over more coffee and wine) until 1:45pm, by which time J&I were getting a little hungry - we'd not yet had breakfast. We were sorry to say goodbye as they are a really interesting couple, and very like-minded in many ways. They are considering selling up in Ceret and moving to the centre of France, to the Massif Central, a lovely area. They will then also be a little closer to Scandinavia where their children and grand-children live. They had initially intended to move to Spain instead, but I think the arrival of a recent grandchild, who will be relocating from Perth with her family to Gothenburg, may have had an influence.
We spend the remainder of the afternoon and early evening getting stuck in and giving the apartment a seriously thorough clean.
No comments:
Post a Comment