Our Last Week in Cerét

This morning Tuesday, September 26th, 2017 the misty sky from last night had disappeared and we woke to beautiful, clear blue skies.

Everything always looks better with the sun shining. 

We again went for a drive today in the opposite direction following the road along the Tech River to Prats de Mollo.

Céret, France on Tuesday morning.

Prats de Mollo 

Wednesday, September 27th, 2017 we day tripped across the border to Girona, Spain ... worthy of a post all of its own.

Girona, Spain

The balance of the week we just lived life in the and around the commune of Ceret. 

We toured around in our bright orange “Captur” if we needed to go further afield. Some place I’ve always wanted to check out was the  Chateau Aubiry which most likely was magnificent in it’s day.

Day Tripping in France (Perpignan)

Our final week in Cerét, France found us doing some day trips exploring some familiar places and discovering some new sites. 

This morning after Monsieur Honey made his morning stroll to the neighbourhood “boulangerie” for our fresh bread, croissant or “pain au raisin”  whatever our selection was today; he announced we were going on a road trip. 

This was much to my surprise after our busy time on the cruise. 

Today’s (September 25th, 2017) road trip took us back to Perpignan.  We parked near the beautiful park and walked the Allée Maillol into the Center. 

Our plans weren’t too ambitious ... maybe a little shopping, strolling the streets and a coffee break. 

Being a Monday several shops were not open, so we admired the different architecture, strolled in some new to us areas of the city and did some window shopping.

              

                         

We saw lots of “nice” things in the shop windows and the beautiful architecture. 

The large department store  “Galeries Lafayette” was open and here we had a good look around. 

Our highlight was coffee at the recently opened rooftop terrace with long views of the city. 

It was an overcast day with the sun playing peekaboo, so my photos from high above taken with my iPhone 6 are on the hazy side. 

In the park, the war memorial is one of Gustave Violet’s works. It is a tribute to the Perpignan men who died during WW1. 

This plaque describes the structure. Gustave Violet is a Roussillon sculptor, born 1876 in Thuir. 

Unlike his father and uncle who made their fortune inventing the aperitif  “Byrrh”; Gustave studied in Paris to become an artist, sculptor, architect. 

He was in the war himself from 1915-1918 and returned physically and mentally scarred. 

After the war he was commissioned to design, construct memorials in several towns, villages in the South of France. 

Our drive back to Ceret included a “Supermarché” stop at the Intermarché, for a quick look around and pickup. 

We checked out the seafood counter and the “spirit” aisle to compare some prices of various aperitifs. 

Then back home for the rest of the day ... early evening the mist rolled in over the mountain tops.

Come back for more storytelling in a few days, I’m still trying to finish last year’s posts. 

It’s “Le Weekend” in Ceret, France

It’s Saturday morning (Sept. 23/17) and you know what that means for us when we’re in France ... it’s Market Day!  

It’s a bit of an overcast morning and later in September than when we normally visit this area of France.

We are not quite sure what to expect. Will there be fewer vendors, less shoppers? Looking out from our windows the section of the market in Place de la Liberté it is full house so I’m guessing we won’t be disappointed as we venture throughout the town checking out the market stalls. 

Town has been relatively quiet since we arrived on Tuesday. 

As you can see in the photo below ... the town is busy with many, many people looking, socializing and shopping at the various market stalls. We found many delicious, fresh goodies and were spoiled for choice.

I can’t wait for our local Farmers Market to be in full swing later this Spring.

And that’s a wrap for today’s market, the vendors have packed up and the commune workers are hard at work cleaning the streets,

                  

Sunday we enjoyed an alfresco lunch at La Quattrocento in the Place des Neuf Jets on a sunny day.

A shared, scrumptious pizza, salad, some cold Rosé and a crémé Catalan with two spoons. 

Then it was time for a Sunday afternoon stroll around town and today we visited the Saint Pierre Church.

Saint Peter’s is a Roman Catholic church. Believed to been first built in 814.

The church was built and rebuilt several times from the 11th to the 18th centuries. 

In 1998 the building was declared a national historical monument.

The Church is located in the narrow, back streets of the center of Cerét within its own square surrounded by beautiful olive trees. 

      



The water was running in the fountain today! We wandered back to the apartment and enjoyed the late sunshine from the balcony.

                       

The blue, blue skies ...

That’s a wrap for this weekend in Cerét.