So Here's Our Vacation Blog...
Relaxing morning, off to the boulangerie/patisserie for croissants, but I couldn’t pass up the pastries - sort of like danish, 9” x 5”, with a thin layer of delicate custard in the middle topped with peach halves and cherries - heaven!. I went down to the shore to see what it was like, was surprised that it was not sandy at all, but 100% pebbles and stones! Depending if you were 50 yards right or left, the stones were ½” - 1”, or 1” - 3”, but very hard to walk on. Didn’t matter, because once you were in the warm Mediterranean sea, it was amazing! I’m not a hard-core swimmer, and I never could figure out how all these French people were floating all over the harbor until I got out there. This sea is really salty, and WOW! - could I ever float! After my ‘athletic endeavors’ we decided to see the historic fort, the Royal Chateau de Collioure, which we missed our last time in Collioure, and I can honestly say I’ve never experienced such a photographic playground! Every time I turned around there was something else amazing to photograph! This fort was built in the 13th century over wall originally constructed in the 600s(!), then improved in the 1600s. Whatever, it was massively impressive. Shapes and colors and textures, so of course great fodder for my camera, but in addition, the massive size of this place and the thought that real people like you and me toiled mercilessly for hundreds of year building it is crazy! Here are some of the photos from our excursion...
Had a delicious lunch on the balcony of sardines, olives, cheese, fruit, and of course a bottle of rose, watched all the people - considerably less than the weekend (darn tourists!) and then took a nap.
Went for another walk, this time to the Domonicain winery, the oldest in Collioure. Built in 1290, the building is in amazingly good shape. We were able to get an inside look at the vats of Banyuls (sweet) wine,
and the ambre (port / dessert) wine in jugs, which takes three years to ferment!!!
Got lucky, and while we were tasting wine (hic!) a truck full of grapes pulled in and we got to see Laurent offload the grapes into the stainless steel screw that moved them through the process - very cool, informative, and fun!
Staggering home with our treasures in hand, we decided to go out for a (gasp!) pizza! Not just any pizza, mind you, but a French pizza. They served it with a bottle of red-pepper infused olive oil so you could drizzle it on top, and am I ever glad they did - delicious! Not quite as delicious as dessert, though, which was supposed to be simple - some sherbet with whipped cream, called Coupe Catalane. Well, you know the French - nothing is simple. The parfait glass did indeed have a scoop of sherbet in the bottom, but then it had about four inches of muscat (I had to ask what it was because I never drink dessert wines), topped with the fluffiest whipped cream, and a cylindrical coffee flavored cookie. Holy Smoke!!!
Stumbled home and sat on the balcony, listening to the conflagration of tourists, buskers, surf, a couple rowing teams practicing and grunting in the harbor, very different than downtown Royal Oak. An amazing day, an amazing night, especially when you share it with the one you love.
Tomorrow is our day to tour wineries along the Côte Vermeille, and maybe a couple extra sites - we’ll see how it turns out. All for now, thanks for tuning in. We love and miss all of you!