Today (September 20th, 2019) our road trip (an easy 30 minute drive) took us to Perpignan, a southern French city near the Mediterranean and the border of Spain. It was the capital of Majorca during the 13th century.
Our trusted Canadian “Molly” the GPS who travelled with us wasn’t working properly and like wise the Spanish Señora GPS installed in our rented Audi was also giving us inconsistent instructions and directions (actually this was Molly the 2nd, if you remember from our 2018 Spain adventure Molly the 1st got lost or was stolen, she never was found) therefore we decided to use the Maps app on my phone which worked a charm.
We parked in the Allées Maillol (named after the famous sculptor) near the beautiful park area ... many of his bronze sculptures are on display in the city of Perpignan.
Today, the area was busy with school children participating in something similar to our track’n’ field events. We spent a few minutes cheering some of the participants.
We entered the old town through the « Castillet » which was originally the city gate, then a prison and now houses the Museum of History of North Catalonia (Joseph Deloncle).It was constructed at the end of the 14th century.
During the French occupation, Louis Xl added the Notre Dame gate.
First a café and tourist office stop. Below was the view from my seat at the café opposite the tourist office ... what a magnificent building.
The tourist offices in Europe are so unique and sometime full of surprises, the one in Perpignan was no exception. Here on display were various barrels with corked tubes.
There were flip up cards of various fruits, etc ... you then uncorked the tube and you could use your sense of smell to discover the fragrant aromas.
We wandered through the narrow streets/ lanes (many pedestrianized) checking out the architecture, peeking into various shops/ boutiques, people and pooch watching.
And before we knew it, it was time for “dejeuner” lunch! We found a table at “ La Petite Cuisine” in Place de la République where we enjoyed our delicious food despite the surly attitude of our server.
Monsieur Mark’s asparagus starter was delicious and will be added to my dinner menus!
The square is lined with many cafés, restaurants and shops ...
We found a little chocolate treat in this shop ... and it wasn’t until later checking out today’s photos I noticed these other shoppers posing with bright smiles for my picture. How fun!
Our walk along the Quai Sebastian Vauban was most enjoyable with beautiful reflections on the water.
Hanging above the water were flags showcasing copies of photos (ads letting visitors know where these works were on display) for the International Festival of Photojournalism that was held in Perpignan from August 31st to September 15th, 2019.
This festival is organized by the association “Visa pour l’image”.
Since 1989 this festival has been held annually from late August to mid-September for 15 days.
Each year a selection of the best stories from around the world are shown in Perpignan.
This is the main photojournalism show in France.
We just missed it!
I’ve spent some time reading some of the articles and looking at the photos in the stories all very interesting.
Check out www.visapourlimage.com find the exhibition link.
This one by Kirsten Luce titled “The Darkside of Wildlife Tourism”.
We checked out the Vauban Market (indoor market hall) on our way to the see the panoramic views from the top terrace at Galeries Lafayette ... looking down at the tourist train.
Our last stop of the day was to checkout the War Memorials in the park.
As always my shutter was clicking all day long; so many photos to share!
Our chocolate treat tonight while playing some cards ... a great ending to our day!
Hope you enjoyed our day trip to Perpignan.
