Postcards from the Lot

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Roses, Costa Brava ... or Costa "Brave"?

#rosesspain#l'estroprestaurant#coastaldrive#freshseafood#oliveoil#foodietraveller

Tuesday, 30th August 2016

Join us today as we travel across the border into Spain to visit the seaside town of Roses on the Costa Brava.

Having our home base in Céret, France provides the benefits of being so close to Spain.

We discovered Roses last year (May 2015) and decided to go for a seafood lunch at the same restaurant "L'Estrop".

The fishing village / tourist site was much busier today than last May.

Many people on the beaches enjoying themselves sunbathing, swimming in the bay as Summer was nearing it's end. Temperatures have continued to be extremely hot!

We knew where we were going this time; we got lucky in finding a parking spot on the Main Street at the beach.

We were happy to see that "Marta" the friendly, front of house greeter was still at L'Estrop when we arrived.

We were quickly seated ... order taken.

It was a delicious lunch ... we enjoyed the olives, bread and fresh olive oil (Oli de L'Avi Pere) ...

Marta's father's olive oil!

Señor Honey chose fish soup as his starter, we shared a delicious salad and the grilled fish and seafood platter followed by Creme Catalan.

It was all as tasty as we remembered!

And of course, I had to buy a bottle of Marta's father's olive oil as a souvenir to take home.

The family business operates two restaurants and have apartment rentals in Roses ...

From here we drove the coastal road back to Céret ... a terrifying experience for me!

Winding, twisting and full of switchback curves high above the Mediterranean Sea with shear drops on my side of the car!

Cerbère ...

I didn't get many photos of our travels from high above ... Monsieur Honey kept saying look at that beautiful scenery but my eyes were closed quite often!

This is the type of travel I much prefer doing by train!

The hills of vineyards as we approached Banyuls sur Mer /Collioure ...

It was a fun day that got my adrenaline going ...

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Céret, Feels Like Home!

#Céret#French#Catalan

Today we said "au revoir " to Cahors in the Lot Valley (Midi-Pyrennes) and "Bonjour" to Céret, (Pyrennes Orientales ) Languedoc-Rousillon.

Ceret is a medieval "French Catalan" village/town located south of Perpignan, only minutes from Spain.

We arrived in Céret mid afternoon to continuing hot and humid temperatures.

As this was a return visit to Céret and we have rented the same apartment as last year, it was all so familiar.

We were in need of a cool refreshment ... Bar Le Pablo provided the answer.

Contact made with the property manager and we met to get the keys ... quickly unpacked & settling in!

A blue plumbago ... it doesn't make me feel blue!

Place de Neuf Jets ...

Our first few days we just spent wandering the many narrow streets/ lanes/ squares ... So I'm just sharing some "postcards" from our strolls, I'll give you some detailed descriptions in later posts.

These first few days we weren't playing tourist but trying to feel like locals that have come home.

Oleanders in every colour on steroids line the streets ... and I have to grow the one we have in a pot and it must be kept inside during the Canadian winters!

A quick visit to the local "Brocante" store ...

Let's just wander a little more ...

Back in our neighbourhood ...

A quick pickup at the neighbours "vegetable/fruit" stand ... right across the street from the apartment,

Hope you enjoyed strolling around the town of Céret for the last couple of days ... as much as we have!

Friday, Fish 'n' Chips and Friends

#montclera#lerestaurant#fridayfish'n'chips#degagnac#beaucaillou#frenchconnection#lavender

Friday 26th August 2016

This morning we bid farewell/ safe travels to our friend, Laury as she returned to her home in Cadrieu for a couple days before her journey back to New Orleans via Paris.

Luckily Monsieur Honey was awake early this morning and gave Miss Laury and her backpack full of a case of Clos La Coutale wine a lift to the train station to catch her early bus back home to the Chatette.

A bientôt Miss Laury ... Until the next time!

And it is our last full day in Cahors. Wow, where did that week go ... time sure does fly!

We were meeting up with our "French Connection" friends for lunch in the small village of Montclera.

Montclera is a small commune in the Township of Cazals.

We were familiar with this village from our time when we stayed in Dégagnac for three months in 2013.

It is located on a road that we travelled many times to visit friends and Cahors.

Our GPS affectionately called "Molly" has been a bit temperamental on occasion during this adventure and Friday morning was no exception.

Monsieur Honey input the village name and away we went ... Molly had us travelling every back road there was to get us here today.

We didn't have far to go from our apartment in Cahors to the village/ our meeting point.

My maps app suggested 37 kms/ 45 minutes ... I think we drove for over an hour!

Simple enough. Not that far you say and we always leave early enough to avoid being fashionably late.

We drove in circles and finally stopped at a boulangerie in a nearby village to get directions.

En fin!

We arrived to our French Connection friends patiently waiting for us at "Le Restaurant"!

Some hugs and kisses and we were seated with views of the Mairie and if you bent your head you could see the Chateau.

How fitting that on today's menu for "Friday" it was "Fish 'n' Chips"!

But first a delicious vegetable/ beetroot salad.

Not your typical "Fish 'n' chips" ... light, crispy and homemade tartar sauce and a version of British mushy peas and bonus for me a good slice of fresh lemon. Delicious.