This was only a slight detour on the way to Spain. Having seen the Pont, we headed for the “Peage”; a tolled motorway that you can do speeds of up to 130km per hour on. On these we would be in Spain in 2 ½ hours according to Tom. So off we went. Well this was a heady time as at these speeds you really need to focus. Huge trucks career along side you and the suction effect of the trucks as you pass them can be a bit daunting at 130km/hr. Also should a truck decide to overtake another they just pull out in front of you as they do not want to slow down, and simply push you into another lane. We stayed on the Peage till Perpignan, our penultimate stop in France. Once again it was another fortified city, with a Church of Notre Dame and designer shops to die for (if you had a wallet big enough). In France you can always see the price of goods as their laws mean everything has to be visibly priced. This was great when chosing hotels as the rates were always detailed at the front door. Perpignan was interesting but as we were feeling it was just more of the same, it confirmed that our decision to go to Spain was the right one.
Having travelled for long enough we stopped ½ hr from the Spanish border in a town called Argeles sur Mer. It even had its own Statue of Liberty. This was a quaint town by the beach. But as with all these quaint towns by the beach you could see that they were like Mt Maunganui – deserted in winter but overcrowded and over-commercialised in the summer. Block after block of similar looking salmon coloured apartments were largely deserted waiting for owners to return with the warmer weather. Some brave people had obviously decided that the weather was right to take a holiday and come to the med, but the wind was strong and only a few hardy sunbathers hid in sheltered places to get a tan whilst windsurfers and kite surfers lapped up the “waves” on the med.
Next morning it was off to Spain. We followed the coastal route and were challenged on the windy roads that carved their way around the Pyrennes Orientales. The panoramas were great, but most interesting was the viticulture on both sides of every hill, and the fact that they were growing vines in what was essentially rock. Add to this the terracing that was done to retain the slopes and these were truly amazing sights. We had essentially been flanked by vineyards all the way from Orange in Provence down through Languedoc – Rousillion and into Spain. We are talking serious hectarage of vines. No wonder we can buy so much cheap wine. We stopped in what appeared to be a quaint fishing town called Collioure BUT a stop and a walk through the village showed that they too were waiting for the tourists to arrive with shop after shop and restaurant after restaurant ready for more people than were there. Interestingly, as we left we passed 4 tourist buses on their way in. The last meal in France at this stage was in Cervere, another seaside town just before the border and was Rabbit. This was largely like chicken but tougher, but the garlic aioli that it was served with seriously attacked the senses (in a good way).
Crossing the border was totally uneventful, with the old abandoned border crossing control alerting us to the fact we had arrived in Spain. The first town we came to was a sight to see – El port de la Selva. The houses were largely cream/white and stacked up the hills away from the med. Boats in the harbours were not layer after layer of tourist boats stacked in a marina, but local fishermen’s boats. We carried on to our destination for the night – Cadaques. This is a very touristy place that attracts thousands to see Salvador Dalis home and museum. But this town has retained its charm and the numbers of visitors here now add to its atmosphere rather than take away. The church, catholic, was not unsurprisingly called Santa Maria and had sculptured artwork that was most unique and ornate of any church we had seen. The paths were made from local stone cemented in place and had pictures made out of these stones such as a mermaid. We were in Tapas country, where people came out to bars at night eating light meals until the late hours. This is a challenge for us as we are early eaters and early to bed and early to rise.
The next morning one could have been forgiven for thinking we were on the atlantic coast as waves and wind pounded the shores of our quaint little fishing village. But undeterred we went for an hour plus walk along the walking track on the coast at 7 in the morning and enjoyed the scenery along the rugged coastline. Our plans for the day were to focus on Salvador Dali. We had an appointment (they only let in 8 at a time) to visit Dali’s house in Port Lligat, another gorgeously quaint little fishing village. One could see why he chose to live there.
His house was an eclectic mix of objects d’art. We took more than 1 photo a minute as we marvelled at the tie up between these objects and his art work. He was probably close to mad but he had the most wonderful views of the sea from his house and to make sure he saw the rising sun from his bedroom, he installed an appropriately placed mirror in which to see its reflection. He had a fascination with dead things and had stuffed or imitation animals and birds all around his house (as well as keeping canaries and a pet cricket that were alive). The planters in the garden were not regular shaped rather they were cup shaped and egg shapes sat in the garden and on the roof of his house. These egg shapes were to reappear later in the day.
Prior to visiting Dali’s house we had time to visit the Cap de Creus Parc which was a wonderfully rocky landscape with shrubbery growing out of the rocks and held the opportunity for many great walks had the weather been more clement.
But with rain dogging our path we decided to move on down the coast and inland to Figueres where the Muse Dali held all his art work. But we decided to do lunch at Cadanques before we hit the road. We had picked out a restaurant that was recommended by the French equivalent to Lonely Planet but when we arrived it was closed. So we strolled further down this back alley and came across a restaurant that looked empty and well it was 1.30pm so we thought the rush must be over. But this is Spain and we were the first in for lunch with many more arriving from 2 pm onwards. Yes they eat late here. But what was great was the food. From the menu we thought it sounded different to that average fare that is served up in tourist places. And we weren’t disappointed. We got a wine that was different to what we ordered but it tasted great so said nothing. The tapas entrée of mushroom and blue cheese croquettes set the mood for the highly seasoned mains. To finish off we shared a Pear poached in wine dish that left the palate zinging. What a way to finish or visit to Cadanques. We had fallen in love with this little village.
Off to the museum in Figueres. Well what a great experience we had at the museum. We marvelled at his art work and the different stages of his art work from the paintings to the sculptures. What was most disconcerting is that in most of his works what you thought you saw was not the only thing to be seen. Often looking through the camera lens you could see other pictures. He was a clever man for sure. We are glad that it is not yet the tourist season as the museum was packed with a huge number of people – but there was still some room to move!
Then on to Girona for the night. Well one would think it would be easy to get a place to sleep for the night and it probably would if we could find a wretched place to park. The car park buildings are expensive so we had to drive what seemed for ever until we found a park. Then we set off on foot to find a Hotel. Well we have found that Hotels in Spain are expensive, but beggars can’t be choosers so settled for the one close by our park. It was better than its one star indicated but we may have to look at the types of accommodation we use in Spain as you are paying 120- 130 a night equivalent for 1 star hotels with no parks. We were spoilt with the Logis chain of hotels we had been using in France.
Off to the museum in Figueres. Well what a great experience we had at the museum. We marvelled at his art work and the different stages of his art work from the paintings to the sculptures. What was most disconcerting is that in most of his works what you thought you saw was not the only thing to be seen. Often looking through the camera lens you could see other pictures. He was a clever man for sure. We are glad that it is not yet the tourist season as the museum was packed with a huge number of people – but there was still some room to move!
Then on to Girona for the night. Well one would think it would be easy to get a place to sleep for the night and it probably would if we could find a wretched place to park. The car park buildings are expensive so we had to drive what seemed for ever until we found a park. Then we set off on foot to find a Hotel. Well we have found that Hotels in Spain are expensive, but beggars can’t be choosers so settled for the one close by our park. It was better than its one star indicated but we may have to look at the types of accommodation we use in Spain as you are paying 120- 130 a night equivalent for 1 star hotels with no parks. We were spoilt with the Logis chain of hotels we had been using in France.
No comments:
Post a Comment