Collioure

The drive from Mas Pallares (where I am staying) to the beaches of Collioure is a wonderful adventure in itself. The narrow streets cross over a majestic bridge, wind through small French villages, tree-lined roads, and a gorgeous, flower-lined highway. Then up a twisty mountain for just a kilometer or two and at the turn of the crest you are treated to your first breathtaking view of the Mediterranean Sea. Collioure is a popular, bustling town with friendly shop proprietors and seems to have a bakery and ice cream shop every hundred steps or so. At one small restaurant on a main alley I bought the best pizza ever remember eating – probably boosted in scale by the facts that I was very hungry and that I was sitting on the side of a glorious bay having lunch on a sunny day. Being so close to Spain the terrain in Collioure looked like how I imagine Bacelona to look. Beaches run up to edge of steep rock cliffs and the water is crystal clear. The most prominent building is an old church rising above the main street. Brick colored rooftops and green fields color the landscape.

 

 

 

Following lunch I went wading in the bay (or as the British call it “paddling”). It was a wonderful day! Here is the view from where I ate ice cream after paddling.