Last Days in The Pyrenees-Orientales

Thursday 18 and Friday 19 September

The department of Pyrenees-Orientales has an admirable bus system that connects all its regional towns with the capital, Perpignan.  For the princely sum of 1 euro a bus ticket can be purchased that has no limitations on distance and gives access to buses that travel just about anywhere - into the mountains, down the coast to the Spanish border or merely to the next village.
On Thursday morning we made use of the 1 euro bus to travel in to Perpignan  - no traffic, no parking issues, no hassle!  The journey is a bit slow as the bus wanders through other towns on the way and then crawls through the rather dreary suburbs of Perpignan.   We noticed a lot of newish housing estates close to the beachside towns of Argeles-sur-Mer and St Cyprien.  This is a popular retirement area for the French - lots of sunshine and it is cheaper than the Cote d'Azur and Provence.
The bus terminated at the railway station so we had to take a cab ride to get to the old town of Perpignan.  There is a canal running along one side of the old quarter which is quite prettily landscaped and it links to a tree lined walk which is also rather nice.  The first landmark we came to was the Castillet, a sturdy looking brick building, or mini castle, once part of the wall that surrounded the city but now standing alone beside a busy road - a little bit odd looking, but interesting nonetheless.

Le Castillet

  We then passed through some narrow lanes lined with tall townhouses and emerged into Place de la Loge where there is are a number of beautiful old buildings, several restaurants and marble paving underfoot.  We stopped for coffee and then continued on to the Place Gambetta, another square surrounded by lovely old townhouses and overlooked by the cathedral of St Jean Baptiste.  The most enchanting thing about these townhouses are the windows, which are tall with shutters in faded colours of pale blue, green and grey and beautiful ironwork railings.

Place Gambetta and the Cathedral

We had a look in the cathedral - it is very beautiful and ornate and then continued through the streets to find a little restaurant in one of the alleys where we were able to sit in a nice spot with a cooling breeze and enjoy lunch.  Afterwards we walked towards the St Jacques quarter to see the Domenican Church where we discovered there was an exhibition of photo-journalism, part of the internationally famous Visa pour l'image Festival of Perpignan.  The main work in the church was that of a French photographer who was calling attention to the plight of the many Mongolians who suffer from diseases casused by air polution in Ulan Bator - quite a sobering collection.
By now we decided that it was time to catch the bus home - we managed to miss one by minutes so had an hour to wait in the railway station.  Dali called this place "the centre of the world" because he apparently came up with lots of ideas while waiting for trains here.  Personally I didn't find it that inspirational!  Riding home we took a slightly different route and were treated to a view of Argeles Plage - a beautiful sandy beach and a lively seaside cafe scene.
It was good to be back by the sea where an onshore breeze is very welcome on these hot days.  Overall impression of Perpignan not great.  There are some interesting parts but somehow it seemed to lack the charm of many French cities - in fact it seems more Spanish than French in many ways, and of course the Catalan influence is profound in this region.

The canal in Perpignan

Friday was another hot and sunny day and Collioure was busy with swimmers, shoppers and diners all day.  We called it a rest day - our last day here before setting off for Provence.

Beautiful morning in Collioure

  Gerri went for an early morning walk and I had a browse in the shops and walked to to sea wall.  A lovely morning for some photos.

Little chapel by the sea wall, Collioure

Royal Chateau, Collioure

View from my morning coffee stop

As the temperature rose it was nice to be back in our cool house (air-conditioned) for a bit of a siesta.  With Gerri opting to rest, I decided to take a trip on the Tourist Train which travels up through the vineyards and over the hills to Port Vendres, before returning via the coast road.  It is a very popular excursion, with packed trains leaving every hour and of course with such magnificent scenery on offer it is easy to understand why.

Looking down on Collioure from Le Petit Train

I had once hiked (with Caroline) over the hills from Port Vendres to Collioure, a magnificent walk, but in today's heat it was very enjoyable to sit back and ride in the Petit Train and also very educational.

Vines on the slopes above Collioure

 I forget most of the dates of tower and fort building but what really stuck in my mind was the fact that vines were first planted on these hills by Greek sailors in the 6th century BC!  What a history of wine making - and very good wine it is too in this area.  Our guide reckons that the combination of sun, wind and soil here produce grapes which are unique.  It is interesting that there are cork oaks growing here too - no prizes for guessing why!

Cork trees

We stopped at Fort Elme for a photo opportunity

Le Petit Train at Fort Elme

 and then trundled down into Port Vendres, a pretty but very busy commercial seaport with a huge trade in fruit and vegetables, a cruise ship terminal and a substantial fishing industry.  Most of the bananas sold in France enter the country at Port Vendres - an interesting piece of trivia! Finally the little train took us back along the clifftops and down into Collioure.

Port Vendres

  Le Petit Train is a really great way to see the area and understand the geography of the place where the mountains meet the sea.  One of the passengers today was especially cute and so excited to be on a train ride - so like Benji!

Can we get on the train now?

Tonight is really warm and the wind is roaring in off the sea - there must still be storms out in the Med somewhere.  Tomorrow we say goodbye to beautiful Collioure and begin our northward journey - next stop, Sablet in Provence.

Beautiful Collioure