Postcards from Provence and beyond

We’ve wanted to visit Collioure for many years, but we haven’t found a reason to come this way, until now. So building in a day off from the ride, in this pretty little place, seemed like a perfect way to do it.

It’s hard to believe that we’re approaching mid-October as it’s glorious weather, with blue skies that are so welcome at this time of year, as the dark evenings are just around the corner.

When we arrived yesterday, we immediately dumped our bikes in the apartment and popped on our swimming-stuff and walked over to the beach for a swim.

It couldn’t have been a better start, the cold water easing our muscles and relaxing our minds into this beautiful place. As we bobbed in the sea, we got a sense of the village, bustling with visitors. It really was stunning.

Then last night, the winds rolled in and we walked the narrow streets, as the village was battered by the storm. There really is something wonderful about being by the sea in a storm, even in a protected harbour like this.

The trees were whipped into a frenzy and the flags on top of the fortress looked as if they were going to break free from the poles or even snap them in two.

The display of pink umbrellas in one of the streets was trashed by the wind, with some hanging limply from their wires and others lying broken on the floor. It was such a shame

Then as we sat on the terrace watching the trees, it was as if someone switched off the wind machine and everything fell calm in a moment. It was truly bizarre. From the frenzied sound of the wind, all we could hear was the gentle lapping of the waves onto the beach.

We slept with the window open, lulled by the sound of the waves and woke this morning to a cloudy, but calm day. As with Girona, we were awake early, but this time mainly due to the road-sweepers below the apartment from 5 30am, so sat on the terrace with coffee until a reasonable hour, when we walked into the village to find a boulangerie.

Back at the apartment we munched pain au raisin & pain au chocolat watching the village wake up below us. Restaurants setting up tables and the streets being cleared of the evening’s storm debris. A perfectly slow, perfectly gentle start to the day, as long as you’re an early-morning person (if not then this location is not for you!)

We have spent the day in a similar fashion, not dashing round trying to see everything and visit all the sights, but taking it slowly and getting a real sense of this place.

We walked up to the ancient windmill to take in the view across the village. The windmill has been around since the Middle Ages, but has been restored since 2000 and is used for local olive milling now, which is such a great piece of local history

Up at the windmill, we realised that the wind hadn’t stopped, just had shifted direction and if it doesn’t change, then it will be fully in our faces for the next couple of days of cycling (so fingers crossed for a change again overnight)

Walking down, we took the path around the headland, getting slightly soggy as the waves crashed against the rocks, sending spray across the narrow path. But it didn’t matter, it was a delightful little place to walk and the sight of the village, bright in the late morning sun was really very beautiful.

It’s easy to see why it has attracted so many artists over the years. The light is truly incredible

We spent a slow morning, sitting on benches letting time just slip past and found ourselves amazed at just how tired we were.

The afternoon slipped by in a similar fashion, as we walked out to the breakwater and watched the local Commandos doing their training, in front of us. It was nice to see someone else doing the exercise today!

We walked around the warren of narrow streets..

And admiring the unique and rather quirky glazed ceramic downpipes, which are evidently a local feature…

Passing beautiful properties, like this row of old naval officer houses, which sits above the village and has been painted by so many artists over the years

The links between the village and artists are celebrated, with reproductions of paintings on walls and ‘picture frames’ on stands showing where some of the artists stood to paint their masterpieces.

Matisse & Derain are the two that we have seen highlighted the most. Their works capturing the vibrant colour, light and essence of this magical place .

We had to keep moving, as whenever we stopped we could feel ourselves slipping into sleep. It’s almost as if our bodies realise by lunchtime, on a day off that they don’t have to do any work and almost go into shock. It’s as if they want to catch up on some of the energy lost over the last few days and with the additional calming sound of the sea, it’s really hard not to succumb.

After wandering the village streets, we decided that the only thing for it was another swim to stop sleep overtaking us. So we donned our stuff and within minutes were floating in the chilly water, protected from the waves by the harbour wall.

It’s been a perfect day and we’ve loved this little place. Yes there are lots of visitors. Of course there are as it’s a stunning place to go to. But we’ve realised that out of season, we could catch the train here and just walk the coast paths and up into the hills. So our minds are already buzzing with how we can make it happen. You can see Our time in the village here

We’ve ended the day sitting on the terrace, eating supper and just watching everyone pack their bits away. The restaurant tables are tucked under the trees, with the chairs stacked next to them.

The tree that was being whipped by the wind last night is calm tonight, the branches filled with the twitter and squabbling of birds settling down to roost.

And from the other side of the harbour the sound of music is drifting across the water

So I’ll leave it for now and just sit back & enjoy the gentle sound of the waves on the pebble beach.

We leave again tomorrow and have a ride to Peyriac de Mer, so hopefully our legs have enjoyed the rest and will be ready to spin again.