Céret, France
Quillan lies in a river valley and is surrounded by large
cliffs and peaks; therefore things seemed to always be in shadows, especially
in the early spring. After our
experience in Quillan we wanted something open, sunny and clean, so after
deciding to leave our waterlogged lodging in Quillan, Cindy did some fancy
footwork via Internet to find something else in the general area. The town of Céret is open and filled with
light (more below on that) and suited us perfectly. The drive back towards the ocean was easy and
beautiful and in less than two hours we had pulled up to the front door of our
new home in Céret.
The manager came as soon as we called her and she ushered us
into a very modern apartment that was filled with light and a marvelous
balcony. We grabbed our stuff, unpacked
and set out to explore our new city. All
my life I’ve heard about artists who go here or there because of the wondrous
light and I kept thinking, “Why don’t they have electricity?” Now I get it!
Words like luminescent never meant much to me when used to describe the
outdoor light but it took only minutes for me to realize I was someplace very
special. I don’t know if it is the
proximity to the ocean, the perfectly pure mountain air, the altitude or the
openness of the city, but it was bathed in a light that I had never seen before
and it changed at least five times during our stay.
Because of the light and the open nature of Céret, it has
always been a magnet for artists. Picasso, Chagall, Matisse, and a host of
others have all stayed and worked in Céret and all over the town are large
plaques that have pictures that famous artists did while in Céret, but the cool
thing is when you look up, you are looking at the very house, or copse of
trees, or riverbank that they painted.
The Musé
d’Art Moderne de Céret in town is filled with the originals of these
painters, or so we are told. It cost far
too much to enter so we used the money for other purposes including postcards
of the Museum.
Céret is certainly in France but everyone there considers himself
or herself Catalan and you can hear the language, see the dress and note the
red and yellow flags everywhere. There
is a very cute little bullring that gets a workout in the summer but otherwise
just sits there. The event however that is the most popular in Céret is the
Saturday Market. “Céret's Saturday
market is a high point of the week and is as much a social event as anything
else. It is a bustling, busy market selling mostly local produce. Fresh fruit
and vegetable stalls are alongside the man who makes boudins blanc and noir
(white sausage and blood sausage). The olive stall is a "must see"
where you can choose from a large range of plain, marinated and dried olives.
The local cheese makers sell everything from the delicious fresh cheeses to
aged hard cheese cut from large wheels. The local wines are red, cheap and very
drinkable.”
Our apartment
had a lovely balcony, which you can see in the photos, and
I spent lots and lots of time sitting there looking out over the hills,
observing the life in the ’hood, and on Saturday, watching the market and the
people. The market on Saturday takes
over the entire town and every street is filled with stalls selling everything
you can imagine. We bought hats the
first day, and boy did we need them since the sun was rather intense for early
April. We had a fine time shopping for
food items, wine and prepared foods like roasted chicken with potatoes. That is
one of the many joys of living in an apartment - you can do as much or as
little cooking as you wish, but with a market this good, we did
a lot of cooking.
Our days were
filled with small routines that we loved.
First thing, Cindy would run and I would investigate the town for future
explorations. We would then meet at the
Central Bar, where the owner warmed up to us quickly and would always have our
coffees ready the minute we walked in.
On the way home we would select a bakery and get fresh pastries, bread, croissants
and anything else that tickled our fancy.
I would make coffee and we would sit on the balcony and just watch the
world turn. After cleaning up, we would
hike or wander around town until about one when it was time to decide which bar
to grace with our presence for an aperitif.
We would then either select a place for a sandwich or go home where I
would make a little something from whatever we had, plus fresh bread and
wine. Most days we took naps to gather
our strength for afternoon walks and the late dinners. The day would end with us
sitting on the balcony with Cognacs and reviewing our day and planning the
next.
One of the
things that we realized is that we need to have outdoor space in a rental. In Quillan we had nothing, not even large
windows. Having the balcony in Céret was just a heavenly experience and we have
now made it a requirement for future rentals, as well as cruises.
Our time in
Céret flew by and all too soon it was time to head back to Barcelona where we
were going to enjoy an afternoon and evening with our friends Bob and Mary who
were on a beach vacation from their jobs in Milan. We had two pre-paid rooms at the Alfa Best
Western right next to the airport due to our 8 am departure for Frankfurt the
next day, connecting to Dulles. Since we
had two rooms we convinced Bob and Mary to come and stay with us so we could
have a lovely dinner and not worry about driving. The hotel itself was what you would expect at
an airport, except the staff was really friendly and helpful. We had low expectations for dinner, but wow
were we surprised. It was some of the best food we had had on the trip and my
oven-roasted haunch of lamb was melt-in-your-mouth perfect, as were the
interesting appetizers and fish dishes. Luckily my portion of lamb was huge so
everyone was able to enjoy it. We had
several bottles of wine and we shared it with the waiter, the chef, and some
others who we think worked there, but it really didn’t matter. We had some fun!
Cindy is
working on the good eats portion of our trip and will be reporting soon. Until
then, a bientot. Wm
No comments:
Post a Comment