Feeling at Home in Ceret!

We made our home base in Céret, France from September 19th to October 1st, 2017. 

Céret is a border town located in southwestern France at the foothills of the Pyrénées with both French and Catalan influences. 

And when I say home base, I mean we are quite comfortable staying here in the same apartment we’ve rented for the past three years.

 “Ciel Bleu” is perfectly located in Place de la Liberté close to the shops to fulfill our every need and want from “boulangeries, boucheries, pâtisseries” to wine shops. 

There is also a fresh fruit and vegetable seller right across the street  .... all is within easy walking distance. 

And let’s not forget the many cafés and restaurants, plus there is the gigantic Market that takes over the many streets of Ceret on Saturday mornings.

On our first full day, we strolled the many streets and lanes reacquainting ourselves with the town ... checking out what was still the same and what had changed.

 This view from “Ciel Bleu’s” balcony may be familiar! 

I never tire of looking out to the mountains, people watching in the Place de la Liberté and waving Bonjour to the neighbours.

And views of the blue, blue skies over the tile rooftops ...

The beautiful dappled sunlight ... 

Some of the usual characters are still hanging around ... 

The Mairie adorned by both the French and Catalan flags! 

 This is the latest time in the year that we have visited Ceret and even though the sun shines brightly with warmth, signs of Fall/Autumn are evident in the changing colours of the leaves. 

The oh so beautiful, majestic tall plane trees that line the streets! 

On our stroll back home we sauntered through La Place des Neuf Jets and as Monsieur Honey looked up he saw our Kiwi friend, John hanging out his fourth floor window (not literally)  waving Bonjour and extending an invitation to come up. 

We enjoyed reconnecting / catching up with Karen and John who this year had only arrived early on in September from New Zealand. They split their time between their homes in New Zealand and their meticulously, restored apartment home in Ceret.  

We came away with a couple of must try restaurant recommendations. 

We exchanged “a bientôts “ and hopefully we will meet up again before our stay in Ceret is over. 

We had an enjoyable day and quickly all became familiar again. 

What will we be doing tomorrow? 

On Our Way from Spain to France

After a good night’s sleep and another delicious buffet breakfast at the Hotel Curious;  we ventured out for a last stroll in the neighbourhood. 

Our hotel was located on Calle Carme just 200 meters off Las Ramblas. It was the perfect location for us as we only had one day in the city on each end of the cruise.

I haven’t quite found out the answer to whether it is “La Rambla”or “Las Ramblas” ... both spellings are found in everything I’ve read.

This morning, we finally checked out the most famous market in Barcelona “ Boqueria Market”. 

What a colourful place. A feast for all five senses! 

The sights, smells, sounds, tastes and touch of a great shopping experience to discover a new culture. I was sorry we hadn’t been here longer to be able to fully enjoy all the market had to offer. 

Many varieties of fresh peppers in any colour, shape or size! 

Anyone want to try the emu eggs? 

Food to go not French fries ... a little tapas (dried sausages)! Yummy.

What a hive of activity in this wonderful covered marketplace! 

After our morning in the “hood” we caught our cab to the Barcelona Sants train station for the next leg of our adventure.

Caught the fast train to Perpignan, France (a short travel time of under an hour and a half) where we picked up our rental car and drove to Céret, France.

The view from the train window ...

We’ve arrived ... we treated ourselves to a welcome back “verre de vin rose “!

The view from the balcony at Ciel Bleu apartment in Céret, France ... 

 

Stay tuned for many more photos and stories that I will share about of our 2017 adventure ...our two weeks in Céret, day trips where discovered some very special places and our final week spent in the Lot Valley. 

Curious in Barcelona

September 18th, 2017 

Our ship the MS Riveria docked early in Port along with thousands of other passengers from the Queen Victoria. 

We disembarked, taxied back to the “Hotel Curious”  for another day and night in the city of Barcelona. 

Our room was ready so we checked in, dropped off our bags and headed out with “curiosity” to explore more of the city. 

Since we didn’t have much time we decided to view as much as possible by riding the double decker bus. Our first seats were on the lower level and then we finally were able to get a couple on the open top deck ... and of course then rain came. All of a sudden an automatic tarp came rolling over our heads to provide some protection from the downpour.

We had an up close and personal view of the vibrant city of Barcelona. 

At times so close you could  feel and touch the leaves and branches of the passing by trees.

We hopped off the bus at the famous La Sagrada Familia. 

Through my research I have discovered that the foundation stone was laid on March 19, 1882 with construction commencing under the design of architect Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano. Due to some disagreements Lozano resigned and the commission was given to Antoni Gaudi. 

It is a magnificent structure, piece of art ... that continues to be built as money is available. 

We did not tour the inside as we were only in the city for today and there were many 1000’s of people with the same idea of visiting this site today! 

I captured some up close in your face photos from our seats on the bus before we got off to check out from street level ... all I could think of was the Vanadian TV show of my childhood  “The Friendly Giant” ... the intro “look up, waaaaay up”! 

W

Cranes amongst the beauty of the structure ...

After a coffee, stroll and some picture taking we were back on the bus ...there is just so much to see and do in Barcelona! 

Once back in our neighbourhood Las Ramblas(1.2 km  plane tree-lined pedestrian mall) for a light lunch and touring. The boulevard is lined with beautiful flower markets, tourist trap shops, cafes, restaurants and of course many, many people! 

We even saw this look alike Marilyn Monroe from her window at the Erotic Museum several times as we strolled the boulevard ... 

Here she caught Señor Honey’s eye and threw him a kiss! 

Tired of walking Monsieur Honey, we can grab a bike! 

Loved the architecture on this building ... looks like it’s decorated with umbrellas! 

Tonight we met up with new friends (Kathy & Steve) for cocktails and then dinner in the popular square “Place Real” (translates to Royal Plaza) in the Gothic Quarter. 

It was a perfect way to spend our last evening in Barcelona. 

Here Señor Honey was introduced to Aperol spritzers ...

Not sure we needed the complimentary liqueurs ...

After a delicious dinner with great company, a delicious wine, we said our “goodbyes” to our friends until the next time we meet! 

Tomorrow we catch the train to France. 

We are still curious about what all Barcelona has to offer and will definitely have to return for a longer stay! 

P.S. I later learned that we should have tried these treats, KRONUTS from the shop next door to the Hotel ... how did my sweet tooth miss these?. 

Señor Honey kept saying “No, no, no!”every time we walked by.