In Carcassone we stayed at Hotel Espace Cite,132 Rue Trivalle www.hotelespacecite.fr [email protected] [email protected]

A perfectly serviceable hotel in a superb location, about a three minute walk from the main gate of the walled city. A modern hotel with no charm, the room was basic but clean, bathroom had a strange shower set up but it worked ok. The breakfast room had a wonderful view of the medieval city and was an excellent buffet – very good pastry, juice, cereal, coffee, tea, etc, yogurt, spreads. Free parking, TV, free wi-fi. Unless you are looking for quaintness or charm I highly recommend it.

Day 4 – Having a great time despite being locked in a church and having the worst meal of my life. Today we got to experience the famous mistral wind. It had been pretty windy in Carcassonne. Driving south I could feel the wind was strong because I had to really concentrate to keep the car in its lane. We stopped for gas and as I opened the car door it almost got blown off its hinges. We stepped outside and our hair stood straight up. It was so funny to see. We could barely walk across the parking lot. I could see how living with that wind could cause insanity.

Fortunately by the time we got to COLLIOURE it was much nicer. The guide books say Collioure is “heart stoppingly beautiful”. Well I wouldn’t go that far but it sure is pretty. Actually it’s beyond pretty – lovely harbor, beautiful clock tower, big fortress/chateau, stone light house. Obviously it helped that the sky was incredibly blue and the sun warm. We just wandered around the town and then I took a walk around the harbor to the far side to get some good shots while KC and Allison basked in the sun. We got excellent take out pizza and went back to the stone walls outside the chateau for a picnic. There were tons of people enjoying the sunshine. It was heaven. We were there about three or four hours which was perfect. Unless you are there for a beach holiday in the summer there’s not too much to do but enjoy the scenery and eat. We finished our time there with gelato and waffles with chantilly and chocolate.

The drive to CERET was easy, nice mountains in the distance. The exterior streets are typical French small city. As we approach the center though, it suddenly is full of people . Really, really full – we realize they are waiting for a parade. We see our hotel but the street in front of it is blocked with people so we follow the car in front of us down a tiny side street and come to a small square with a couple of other cars – and realize there is no way out! KC gets out on foot to explore and comes back to report that one “street” has a big metal ball preventing cars, and on the other she saw a car try to go that way and rip off its side view mirror. Only way out is the way we came and that’s now block by the parade. So we leave Allison to protect the car (this square is full of screaming teenagers in costumes totally drenched with water and shaving cream and running around squirting silly string on everything – proof that French teens can be every bit as obnoxious as American ones. KC is who is just past her teens years didn’t find it that bad but old Allison and I did). KC and I walk to the hotel, which is only about two minutes from where we are stuck, and are told that the parade will keep going around in circles for the next two hours. It’s carnival. So we check in – fabulous view of the parade from the room – and once we know that we will eventually get the car out we actually have a good time. Allison choose to stay in the car and take a nap but KC and I went to the parade/carnival and it was fun. Once the parade was over (and we moved the car and brought our bags into the hotel) the people quickly disappeared leaving a totally deserted town. Only two restaurants were going to be open for dinner – all the cafes, etc had been open for the carnival but were now closed. We went back to that same square we had been “trapped” in and had a nice dinner.

The hotel we stayed at was Hotel Arcades, Place Picasso www.hotel-arcades-ceret.com It was a pleasant hotel in the old part of Ceret. Room was spacious, bright and comfortable as well as nicely decorated. Underground parking garage (only had room for about 6 cars). Lift, TV, free wi-fi. Huge bathroom with separate WC. The breakfast was extra and only so-so but we weren’t sure there would be many other places to get breakfast so we took it. Ceret is only about 15 minutes off the A-9 and is a nice enough town with a couple of pretty squares so if looking for someplace to stay in that area I’d recommend it. Not much to see or do in Ceret though (other than the art museum).

Day 5 – another sunny morning. We took a short walk around the town – it’s got a very pretty main street/square with some ancient arcades/walls/gates – but not much else for the tourist. I think Ceret makes a great short stop if you are passing through the area – it’s only about 15 min drive from the A9 - or as a base to explore the area (wine, castle ruins, etc).

Our next destination was CADAQUES, Spain. A very brief drive on the A9-AP7 to Figures, then suburban highway to Roses. Then it gets interesting. I’d read it was a slow windy road, they weren’t kidding. From Roses to Cadaques is about 19 km on a narrow two lane twisty, windy road – I never went over 40 km an hour and even at that Allison was white knuckled. Awesome views, but of course to get those views means you are waaaaay up high. There were guard rails and I never felt we were in any danger, but then I was driving, might have felt different as a passenger. And of course I kept saying things like “I’d love to get a shot of that” which made my passengers think perhaps I was looking too much at the scenery and not enough at the road (untrue). Anyway, it takes about a half hour. The locals kept passing me.

Cadaques is quite different from Collioure, just up the coast. Instead of pastels it’s got mostly white buildings, and no clock tower or chateau. It does have a huge church on a hill crowning the town. Very reminiscent of Greece, Portugal and Andalucia towns. There was a ton of construction around the main street and harbor, and most of the shops and restaurants were closed for the season. We had a nice lunch at a café with outdoor seating right by the water though. Too bad we couldn’t find any gelato to finish the day. I took another long walk in both directions along the water from the center of town, and that’s where the awesome views are. The town streets themselves were pretty dead at this time of year. In both Cadaques and Collioure there were plaques with examples of some of the art these towns are famous for (Dali in Cadaques, Mattise, etc in Collioure) showing the artists view of the scene you are actually looking at. I didn’t find Cadaques as charming as Collioure but I’m glad I saw it. It was worth the windy road. We spent about the same amount of time here, about three to four hours, including lunch.

The drive back to Barcelona airport was easy, highway all the way. Got gas just before we got off the AP7 on to the “ronda de dalt” ring road but it was down about an eighth of a tank when we got back to Avis and they charged me 25€ for that. He said I could take the car and go find gas but I figured with my luck that’s when I’d get in an accident and it just wasn’t worth it. But be aware, when they say “full” they mean totally full.

The rest of our time in BARCELONA was pretty uneventful – lots of sightseeing, wandering the Barri Gotic, tapas eating, etc. Both KC and Allison had colds by this time and really weren’t feeling well. KC had to go back to Paris to work and Allison took a lot of siestas and I did a lot of photo snapping. There are plenty of Barcelona trip reports so I won’t go into a day by day account but just mention a few things. Also we had been to Barcelona only a few years ago so didn’t repeat some highlights from that trip – like Park Guell, the Spanish Village up on Montjuic and the tourist bus trip ( all of which I highly recommend). This time we took the metro or walked everywhere. The metro is clean, modern, efficient and as safe as any other city as far as I can tell. The T-10 pass (10 rides for any number of people) for €7,85 is the best metro deal I’ve encountered in recent years.

So speaking of safety – there was a thread here just before I left about how dangerous Barcelona is – not just pick-pocketing but actual muggings. A google search does indeed say that the number one place for pickpockets (in the world?) is Las Ramblas in Barcelona. I had felt totally safe the last trip and did again this trip. I DID notice a huge police presence this time though. They were everywhere – on foot, motorcycle, in tiny cars, even on horseback – all over Barri Gotic, Las Ramblas, the harbor and Eixample. So maybe they took their bad rating seriously and are trying to do something about it. I always wear a money belt under my clothes with everything except one credit card and a small amount of cash anyway – I do this everywhere I go outside of my home country. And it probably helps to have some street smarts. I can see how there can still be pickpockets (there are everywhere) or even purse snatchings, but unless you are wandering around alone at 3am I don’t think you should worry about muggings. And I have to say I saw absolutely nothing in the way of pick pocketing, ect. Some of the streets in the Barri Gotic area are deserted even in mid day so I certainly wouldn’t walk on them late at night, but the main streets through that area are lively till quite late. Stores seemed to stay open till 10:00 most nights and of course restaurants much later. And I felt just as safe on Barcelona’s metro as any other (Paris, London, NYC, Boston, etc).

My favorite things to do in Barcelona are walking around the BARRI GOTIC and the PORT VELL. I did each of those things daily, some days multiple times. Other highlights were:

SAGRADA FAMILIA – There was a thread here not long ago about the value of going inside due to the cost (12€, plus 2,50 more to go up the lift to the spires) and the fact that it’s a “construction site”. I also debated, knowing that the majority of the artwork (sculptures) is on the exterior. On our first trip to Barcelona four years ago we didn’t go inside. But I’m glad I did. It’s pretty awesome. Hard to describe (look at the photos). There is a nice display of information on Gaudi and his thinking in creating it, etc. also.

COLUMBUS MONUMENT – You can take a lift to the top for €3. It’s one skinny lift though (three people was really pushing it) and once you get up there there’s not much room to move around, you’ll be seriously glad you went on that diet. But the views are wonderful. The entrance is a stairway under the base of the monument, easy to miss. But cross the street to the monument itself and walk around it – amazing sculpture – and you’ll see it.

PARC DE LA CIUTADELLA - This is the only one of Barcelona’s three major parks that is in the city center. I also highly recommend going up to Montjuic and especially going to PARK GUELL, but Ciutadella is an extremely pretty park with lots more than trees and benches. There are two large greenhouse type buildings – Umbracle and Hivernacle, a pink walled iron and glass open-ended conservatory. But most impressive is La Cascada. To say it’s a fountain is quite the understatement. Again you just have to look at the photos, words cannot describe it. The huge four horse sculpture on the top, which was impressive enough when it was black four years ago, has now been covered in gold and is breathtaking. The color of the water is a luscious greenish blue. The whole thing is just beautiful. Add to that a castle building and an arch du triomph and you have quite the city park.

THE HARBOR, BEACH WALK and BARCELONETTA – Although hanging around the harbor – the Rambla del Mar, Port Vell, Moll de Fusta – was my favorite on both trips, this time we also walked into Barcelonetta and along the beach. Barcelonetta is just an area of housing, kind of atmospheric with lots of laundry flapping in the breeze, one nice main square. But the beach is impressive. Nice wide sandy beach, next to which is a paved raised boardwalk, lined with benches, restaurants, etc. Interesting sculpture, great people watching, beautiful Mediterranean to look at. I walked as far as Port Olimpic ( another marina, big hotels, casino, expensive restaurants) – past the Gehry Fish sculpture. I would not have wanted to stay in this area, but I’m glad I spent an afternoon exploring it. It’s about two miles from Placa d’Antoni Lopez (Lichtenstein’s Sculpture) to Port Olimpic (so figure a five mile round trip if wander at all).

THE EIXAMPLE – MODERNISTA WALK - You can take paid walking tours of the area, but it’s pretty easy to put your own together. I just read a few guidebooks, did a little research on the web, and mapped it out. The walk I did started and ended at Placa Catalunya and was about 3½ miles and covered the majority of the modernista buildings in the Eixample that are in most guidebooks. If anyone is interested I can give more details. I also took the metro to Hospital de la Santa Creu i de Sant Pau, until recently a working hospital and on the UNESCO list for it’s modernista architecture. You can enter the main building for free but to see the rest you now need to take a tour, there are two a day in English, €6

Thank you so much for this excellent report on a somewhat different itinerary from lots of other people.

Thank you Isabel for your travel info we look forward to our trip this June. I ordered the Panasonic fz35 and was wondering if you ordered any special filters, etc. to go with it? Do you have the hood cover around the front lens to cut down on glare? Thanks!

Thanks Isabel, you hit a lot of places I have been, some a long time ago, and I really enjoyed reading about them.

Yes it was a little different itinerary but I was really happy with it. It made for a good combination with Barcelona. People seems to frequently be asking what to combine with Barcelona and this worked well.

Nikki - we do seem to go to a lot of the same places. Are you going anywhere interesting this summer? Talk about unusual itineraries - we are going to Iceland, Netherlands, Amalfi Coast and Croatia. Honestly I didn't start out to plan it that way but that's how it worked out. Can't wait to see if it's as much fun as it sounds like it will be.

nokomis - I do use the hood cover for the fz35 but not all the time. It doesn't seem to make that huge a difference. But I always carry it with me. I don't have any special filters but I do some editing with photoshop and you can adjust levels and things like that, which works out similar to using a filter. You wouldn't be from Nokomis, Florida by any chance would you?

Thanks Isabel for your information, I am very excited about my new camera! It should be arriving soon. Yes, we have a home in Nokomis, Florida. We love it there.

Isabel, I read back to your plans for this summer. We enjoyed Croatia especially Dubrovnik. We also loved Slovenia. Are you taking a ferry from Croatia to Italy? We did that and it was great. We landed further north so we could tour the Tuscany area. The Amalfi Coast is fabulous, we stayed in Positano and loved it too. Again thanks for your useful information we look forward to our trip to Spain, Portugal and France. We are also spending a week on the island of Madeira. Happy Travels