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Published: December 21st 2011
The Pyrenees
Our trip has moved onto France and into the Pyrenees. It is here I must have fallen asleep for 30 odd years as Ian has turned into one of the grey nomads following the well-trodden route of the beautiful villages of France. Yes my younger husband has become the Sunday driver, cap and all. Before leaving Australia he found a book on the beautiful villages of France and it is his mission to see them all….
We arrived in the area by train from Barcelona. The train trip was broken in 2 with the Spanish renef system taking us to Figueres and the French TGV the rest of the way. The Spanish system is good, the French is fast. You can feel the acceleration. Our only disappointment was that we only had 23 mins on board. It would be a wonderful way to head into Paris. From Perpignan armed with a new internet sim card, our trusty Bruce, the tom tom, and van we headed off to begin the village tour.
We found a beautiful house in a small village called Jujols. This village can be found perched on the hillside 5km up a narrow winding
road. The house was just amazing so one of our days here was spent just wandering the village and sitting in the courtyard admiring the view over the mountains. The kids also put their feet up and enjoyed a day of movies from the huge range offered at the house.
Over the time we had in the area we covered the Villages and towns of Castlenou, Prades, Olette, Eus, Vernet-les-Baines, Mosset, and Villefranche-de-Conflent. They are all beautiful with views, narrow alleys and walk ways and stone housed, however as it is winter most of the shops and cafes were shut. This was good and bad. Most places we had to ourselves and we could wander unhindered but some of the feel of some of the villages may have been lost.
We did get to the local farmers markets in Prades. This was fun joining the locals getting supplies . These markets are scattered through the villages and are there for the farmers and locals not set up for the tourists. The cheeses and breads were mouth-watering. You could live on bread and cheese and not taste the same thing twice.
The Pyrenees has a magic about it.
The mountains tower over these tiny villages deep in the valleys. The pictures you see just do not do it justice. It is an enchanting area and I would have loved to have weeks exploring the whole area but Provence is calling and we have to leave.
Alex
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kiane mckinlay
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So glad to see the children have blossomed on the journey. I guess you could say they are finding themselves through the travel process....so now you know what they are really like you may want to billet them out as you travel through Europe.... Off to Adelaide for Xmas 2morrow so big kisses to all for Xmas, have an amazing European Chrissy, love us from Sunny Geelong x