Friendships Around the World

#friendships#Ceret#Maureillas-las-Illas

Thursday September 26th, 2019

Today was another slow day which when you are travelling are great because it gives you a chance to catch your breath and reflect on your surroundings / experiences.

Madame Susan & Monsieur Mark opted to walk the cork forest trail from the opposite direction today.

Madame Susan says she remembers thinking that our landlady, Hazel was right to start from where she did the other day when she accompanied them. 

My interpretation/ translation : it was a more challenging, difficult walk today!

Monsieur Honey & I wandered in the village with a couple of quick pickups at the boulangerie for a freshly baked baguette and a stop at the Spar for some lunch items.

On our way back we had a cafe sit at the local bar/ restaurant “El Tap” in the square for some people watching while listening to the soft splashing of water in the fountain. 

Such blue, blue skies ...

Back at our home away from home with our shopping ...

”Nos amies” returned from their walk and we enjoyed our alfresco lunch in the lower garden under the shade of the lychee tree.

It was another beautiful, sunny day! 

The Monsieurs had a wander in the back yard ...

Only thing on our calendar today was a rendezvous with our Kiwi friends who split their time between Nelson, New Zealand and Céret, France.

We met Karen and John at le Comptoir des Arcades for drinks and a catch up! 

We missed seeing them the previous year (as our 2018 European travels only took us to Spain). 

We shared a pleasant couple of hours of friendship. 

The sun was shining brightly, so much so that hats were shared. 

The magical light was magnificent! 

We drove back to Maureillas-las-Illas from Céret along the mottled coloured plane tree lined road. 

When we arrived home, Madame Susan and Monsieur Mark we’re enjoying the early evening on the terrace ... we joined them for some chatter and planning for tomorrow ... our last day in France. 

Market Day in Céret

Saturday, September 21st, 2019 

We’ve been blessed with great weather so far; just a little drizzle one day in Saint-Remy!

Early this morning at 730AM the view from my bedroom window wasn’t too promising.

It was a “moody” sky! 

We can only hope Mother Nature will get over her “bad mood” soon since it is “Market Day” in Céret! 

Monsieur Honey and I always say you can’t do anything about the weather!

So as the Mother Goose nursery rhyme goes we had two choices ...

 “this little piggy went to the market”  or “this little piggy stayed home”! 

You have to roll with it or you stay put inside and miss out on some great experiences.

We all armed ourselves with proper gear (jackets, hoods, hats and umbrellas, etc) just in case the heavens opened up to shower us and off we went to the Market. 

Our tour of the market started at Place de la Liberte. 

Normally it is so busy with vendors stalls, visitors and shoppers that you can barely move through the crowds. 

Today the market was much smaller likely due to the weather.

We had a short list of a few things we wanted ... » anciennes tomates » of every colour possible, bulb onions, a stalk of celery (I had plans to make some soup) melons and bread from a local boulangerie.   
My first stop was at the flower sellers to have a bouquet of beautiful lisianthus set aside. 

Giant pan of cooking Paella ...

Added to our list while we’re here ... some of these strawberries! 

We will have to keep looking those aren’t the anciennes tomatoes.

Colourful pottery ...

Vendor with variety.

Everything made from olive wood ...

Some local beer tasting and Matheau (sp?) from Le Traquenard had a sale! 

Le Traquenard Brasserie Artisanale is worth trying. 

After dropping our purchases at the car, we wandered a little longer. 

We dealt with Mother Nature’s mood fairly well until the rain changed from a drizzle to a downpour drenching us all. 

We needed to find some shelter and maybe a coffee ... most places were full a l’interier (inside) ...

We sat side-by-side outside under a large canopy facing the street, perfect for watching the activity. 

Monsieur Mark looked after ordering and we were quickly served. We had picked up some croissants & pain au raisin at the boulangerie to enjoy with our coffees & cappuccinos. 

Monsieur Mark’s charm and his thank you « Canadian flag » pin to the waitress garnered him a neat souvenir t-shirt from the El Toro Loco Bar.

These little ones were well-prepared for Mother Nature’s tears (today’s downpours) with their rubber boots and brightly coloured umbrellas. 

We finished our Market Day with a quick stop at the Intermarche (supermarket) and then lunch at Relais d’Ourlich.  

We were later than the normal time for lunch in France, luckily we were seated and served. 

It was a delicious and entertaining meal. 

We had a server with a great sense of humour. 

Madame Susan asked her a question about one of the entrées trying to figure out what it was ... and the server replied with an « oink, oink » sound!

Sounds are universal! 

We all laughed! 

Delicious food, our lunch started with a buffet of salads, meats, cheeses, etc.then our choice of four main dishes. 

The potato dish was mashed potatoes with pumpkin, another must to add to my dinner menus. 

My lisianthus bouquet to brighten our day!  

     

Market Day in Céret

Saturday, May 11th-2019 

Today our road trip is taking us to the “Deep South” of France to share the Céret market experience with Jennifer. 

Céret is probably one of our most favourite spots with plane tree lined streets and it has just enough going on in the town with a good café /restaurant scene, many local shops plus larger grocery stores and of course there is the fantastic Saturday market that winds all the way around the centre of town. 

Céret is located at the foothills of the Pyrenees, very close to Spain ... in fact, today as we exited from the auto route, the built in GPS took us thru Spain and then back into Céret. 

Not sure if we missed something but when we returned back to Montlaur the Gendarmerie had our usual road closed off. 

Who knows ... maybe the GPS satellite knew the road was closed. 

Even with an early start, we arrived later than anticipated due to the detour through Spain ... Jennifer can say she also went to Spain! Haha! 

Remember this place ... overlooking Place de la Liberté with stunning views over the tiled roofs and mountains. 

We stayed at this apartment on three separate occasions. 

 

Here’s a memory from 4 years ago ... Monsieur Honey snuck out to buy me some flowers! 

The market was as busy as always even with the threat of rain. 

This vendor was hoping to cash in on the weather ... selling “parapluies”.

Luckily we didn’t need one! It only rained when we were inside. 

We wandered, checking out the various vendors selling their products and wares.

And of course it was cherry season ... a must buy! 

They were juicy and sweet! 

And every year the last weekend in May, there is a Cherry Festival. 

We had hoped to eat alfresco in the “Place des Neuf Jets” but the weather man or was it Mother Nature had other plans, neither of whom were cooperating. 

The sky was dark and threatening rain.

We had reserved a table at Quattrocento where we enjoyed a delicious lunch  « a l’intérieur «. 

A little more strolling after lunch to be able see without the market stalls set up. 

Picasso’s fountain ...



A street view with the giant plane trees ...

We discovered some “street art” paintings on walls ... I didn't know anything about these previously, after some searching I found an article from November 2017  in the P-O Life magazine.

Here’s an excerpt ... New Faces in Cerét by written Elaine Koerner.

The artist behind the faces prefers to be known only as FAS.
“I am very proud of our artistic history,” explains FAS, who lives in Céret with his family.
“I decided to create these portraits in tribute to a handful of the many painters and other artists who either were locals or else were drawn to Céret’s charms as visitors. My portraits include both well-known and lesser-known painters.”

His portrait project got started more than a year ago after he received a thumbs up from the Mairie.

There is suppose to be six to nine of these throughout the town. If interested you can read the whole article online.

The beautiful bottle brush plant ...



And one last stop at Bar Pablo before leaving town ... 

À bientôt Céret!