Good Golly Miss Molly !

Like the words of Little Richard’s song in 1958…we often say ”Good Golly Miss Molly” because we don’t understand where she is going or taking us to!

 The name of our GPS is”Molly” and she has been very helpful, but sometimes she takes us via the strangest routes to our destinations.

We purchased a new “Molly” before leaving Canada with maps of Europe included.

She instructs to travel on winding, twisting roads, up hills and down hills and thru farm lanes or paths and even vineyards and roads that are only wide enough for one vehicle.

Honey would have loved to have his “B” MGB here to drive on these roads.

Are you kidding Molly...you want Picasso to drive down here...this is Rue Marsis?

Catch Up Week in Gourdon

This week was a busy one after our return from Collioure; luckily there was no French class on Wednesday; there was only the matter of finishing the previous week’s homework.

This week’s assignment was to write a composition about either of the following subjects, “My First Date” or “My Perfect Sunday”.

The Professor requested that we write it in both French and English in case he could not follow our thoughts in French.

My story was about “Mon dimanche parfait”…”My Perfect Sunday” …the Sunday we had just spent at the Seaside in Collioure.

I wrote the story and emailed both the French and English versions to the Professor on Thursday.

However, Thursday night I had a sleepless night (and consequently so did Honey) because my internal French and English dictionary was rambling in my thoughts all night.

Friday morning I rewrote the French version to correct my errors.

Oh why do I take this so seriously?

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A visit to the “Laverie” (Laundromat- but this one is outside) was in order to wash the guest room linens for our next expected visitors.  The washing machine in the Gite is not large enough to wash all the bedding.

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We took a break from everything yesterday (Friday) and met some friends in Puy L’ Eveque for lunch.

We went to the Creperie- “Le Pigeonnier” that overlooks the Lot River with beautiful views of the medieval town. The river was running very high and fast due to the recent rains.

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Today is Saturday and you guessed it…”it’s Market Day”.  It was bustling today, no rain and although sun is not shining, the temperature is very pleasant (19C) at 11AM and no wind and not cold.

We replenished the larder with fresh onions, carrots, lettuce, and radishes which were all grown locally in Gourdon.

Also we purchased avocados, tomatoes, potatoes, limes.

Oh yes, I mustn’t forget he couple of celery stalks a necessary ingredient for my bolognaise sauce. Here, celery is in bunches and sold by weight so you can purchase as many or as little stalks as you like.

A stop at the Pasta Van- “Les Pastas Marco” for some fresh pasta noodles for my bolognaise dish was the final stop, before we enjoyed our Café Crèmes at one the Cafés.

I also bought some antipasto …stuffed tomatoes and as always Marco gave us “un cadeau” …a gift, today it was a container of tapenade.

Marco’s homemade foods have never disappointed us.

You will find him at the Markets throughout the region, but he is always at the Saturday market in Gourdon.

This afternoon, we went in search of the “Largest Strawberry Tart in the World” ** at the Strawberry Festival in the nearby village of Nabirat…a Canadian neighbor told us that it was a must see.  We arrived after a short drive on a new route, narrow one lane country roads only to discover the festival is tomorrow in this lovely tiny village.

** Graeme says he will only believe this if it’s in the Guinness World Book of Records. 

From here, we followed a road sign that piqued my interest about “Le Vieille Eglise”, an old, ancient Church.

We didn’t have to travel far when we discovered another quaint hamlet “St. Aubin de Nabirat” with a very old Church with a naïve, the east facing end of the building that contains the altar.

As in many of the French bastides, hamlets, villages and towns, there is always a War Memorial commerating those that lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars. In this tiny hamlet 8 people were lost in each war, probably one from each family in the hamlet.

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 Footnote - the sun was shining and the temp was 21C when we walked to the Cafe at  730PM.

A Bientot (Until the Next Time) Collioure



A Bientot (Until the Next Time) Collioure

Collioure – Day 3

Woke to sunny blue skies, went to an old favorite “Café Sola” two doors from our hotel for Petit déjeuner.

We went for a stroll around town.

The French Marines were at it again, completing a very difficult obstacle course in the cold sea this morning,

Why so many Marines?  The 18^th century citadel, Fort Mirador is now home base for the French Marines.

We visited the waterfront church, “Our Lady of Angels” with its

foundations built into the sea, and with its lighthouse bell tower that use to guide the fishermen home safely. (the building to the right in the photo below)

We walked to far side and saw the waves splashing against the rocks and buildings.

It was on this beach in 2003, that I first put my feet in the Med.

We strolled some more and returned to an Art Gallery we visited the previous night to make a purchase.

Galerie Dumortier

Here we found some prints that appealed to both our tastes, made a purchase to take home as a souvenir of our trip.

Conversation with Bernard Dumortier was easy ... told him my maiden name was "Mortier" from Belgian descent. He said he was from the north of France originally.

In the summer he lives and operates his Gallery in Collioure; while during the winter months he lives and has his Gallery in Toulouse.

He kindly let us take his photo and gave permission to post on the blog.

http://www.galeriedumortier.fr/

So you can see Collioure is full of Colour!!!

We then headed back to our little of piece of France in the Lot Valley.

Colours of Collioure

Picasso delivered us safely to our favorite seaside village on the Mediterranean just before noon to throngs of tourists and a bustling Sunday morning market with musicians and all. There was no parking to be found with all the pay lots full; finally after much driving around a slot became available in the "Full" Lot behind the Chateau.

Collioure ownership changed many times over the years between the French and Spanish...but now the two have melded inot one.

We first discovered this special place by accident in 2003 while sitting in the train station in Arles waiting for a train to Bordeaux...when honey saw the name Collioure on the departure board and it was leaving an hour earlier than the Bordeaux train;  he quickly checked the guide book and said let's head south to the Mediterranean.


We are staying in the Old Town area at the Hotel Princes de Catalogne which includes a parking space. We stayed here previously on a visit in 2004.


http://www.hotel-princescatalogne,com/


The hotel rooms are more North American-style. 
Our 4th floor room is large and comfortable and on the quieter mountain side of the building with beautiful views of the vineyards, Pyrenees' mountains, the Madeloc Tower and the square Fort St. Elme.

The light here has a golden tone which attracted many of the famous Impressionist Painters, such as Matisse, Chagall, Miro and Picasso.


Collioure has a wonderful climate and six "petite " pebbled beaches and the old town is full of old fisherman's cottages that we have nicknamed  "Pastel Painted Palaces".

 

The village originally was a fishing port and home to a small sardine canning factory from the mid 1800s until the 1920s.


Collioure remained an undiscovered treasure until the late 70s.
It sadly has become a major tourist destination for the French and British.


We reacquainted ourselves with the village, strolling the pedestrian streets, checking out some of the local artists' workshops and photographing the many colorful cottages. We finished the afternoon sipping aperitifs on the beach and people watching.
It was the last day of the school holidays for the children and they were having fun skipping stones across the Med. and feeding the pigeons on the beach.

We had an enjoyable dinner of Catalan Pizza at " Le Tambourin " restaurant and some tasty desserts including Banyuls. 

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Day 2 in Collioure

Today we watched the French Marines doing manoeuvres on the Quay and in the Sea....



We enjoyed the sunshine from a park bench with views over the only sandy beach and children's playground ...

This evening we ate an authentic Catalan meal that was absolutely delicious.... and finished off with Creme Catalan....delicious.

Collioure Salad --- fresh lettuce, red onions, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, olives and with delicious fresh anchovies.

Mr. had the Tuna

I had the King Prawns

both accompanied by rice and ratatouille.

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stay tuned for Collioure -Day 3