Although I have a pretty hearty readership, I couldn't help but wonder what might happen with a title like this. (chorkle!) You were asking yourself when I'd run something really racy... right?
Well, here goes! We live in a conservative East coast non-risqué kind of town and our local newspaper ran an ad which really caught my eye:
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(for furniture) position open. Work involves chemical & some lifting. Flex hours. The Furniture Doctor, Bloomfield NY Bet they got some replies! And, I bet you had your thoughts on les Folies Bergere...
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| Can you keep a secret? One of my readers introduced me to a painter, Christian Vey who happens to live near Fleur d'Uzes- AND, we're thinking of offering TWO week-long en plein air painting classes (June & September) at a very affordable price. Interested?
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IF you still dreaming of the south of France this summer, let me know~ There is ONE RESALE OWNERSHIP again available. With the Mediterranean blue and coastline of Spain on your doorstep, this is a slice of heaven!
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Things to see and do
Arles-sur-Tech: beautiful Roman church with 12th century cloister; 13th century palace with private art collection; factory outlet with traditional Catalan fabrics and espadrilles. Just beyond the town are the Gorges de la Fou, a spectacular canyon plunging 100 metres down. There's a trail and you can hike in.
Banyuls-sur-Mer: large aquarium; port; spa ("thallassotherapie" in French); visits to wine caves; and the Aristide Maillol museum.
Castelnou: fortified, medieval village built into a mountainside and dominated by a park your car outside the village and walk in, making your way up the narrow (sidewalk width) winding cobblestone streets. Halfway up to the castle there is a lovely restaurant with a large terrace and a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside.
Céret: frequented by Picasso, Georges Braque and Juan Gris in their early years, Céret features a museum of modern art (which Picasso helped establish). High in the mountains, the medieval town is noted for its corridas and its cherries, which are considered to be the best in France. Directly south of Céret is the Pic de Fontfrede. At 1,000 metres up, it offers a view of the entire Roussillon region, right to the sea.
Collioure: popular with tourists, for the natural beauty of its site, as well as the Chateau Royal, a superb 13th century castle which belonged to the Kingdom of Aragon, until France wrested it back in the 17th century. Plan on at least an hour and a half to visit the entire castle. Afterwards, you might want to settle into a cozy chair at a cafe along the beach and contemplate the sea. Collioure also has an excellent market every Wednesday. By the way, if you've always hated anchovies, try some of the fresh product for which Collioure is justly famous.
Elne: an ancient Roman city midway between Cerbère and Perpignan. Its marble cloister (11th-12th century) is considered to be one of the most beautiful in the region.
Font-Romeu/Odeillo: Font-Romeu is an oddity, having been created solely for the purpose of fostering tourism, in the 1920s. It's popular with skiers and other athletes for its sunny, dry climate. Nearby Odeillo features a "solar oven", an 1,800m2 parabolic mirror which concentrates solar energy, producing temperatures of up to 35000 C.
Ille-sur-Têt: Just outside the town are "Les Orgues" (the organs), bizarre rock formations that can be viewed from a distance or visited up close. The town also features a fireman's museum (Musee du Sapeur-Pompier) and a centre for sacred art, with pictures, sculptures, silver chalices and reliquaries.
Le Perthus: a border town which lies half in France, half in Spain and is mainly frequented for its duty free shopping. One can also visit the fully restored, 17th century fort (built during the reign of Louis XIV to keep the Spanish out) and an archaeological site with Roman ruins, known as Les Panissars.
Perpignan: The capital of Pyrénées-Orientales and Catalan to its very roots. It was Spanish long before it was French and the evidence is all around. Main attractions are: the Palace of the Kings of Majorca; the Hyacinthe-Rigaud museum; the gothic cathedral; Le Castillet, a castle which is now a folk art museum; the Loge de Mer; and the Campo Santo, a hallowed burial ground. Perpignan is also the cultural centre of the region, with numerous theatre, music, dance and arts festivals throughout the year, including the month-long "estivales" during July.
Port-Vendres: a jewel of a town and just a short drive from Cerbère. Serves as a fishing port, marina, and commercial port, all nestled into a neat, rectangular harbour, with shops, restaurants and cafes all around. In late afternoon, the fishermen come back with their catch and you can buy directly from them.
Prades: former home of the famous cellist Pablo Casals. Each summer, Prades hosts a classical music festival, with concerts held in neighbouring St-Michel de Cuixa (see below). The Eglise St-Pierre is famous for its immense altar-piece, sculpted in the 17th century and an outstanding example of Baroque art. En route to Prades, you may wish to visit Eus, an extremely beautiful village nestled into the mountain-side.
Prats-de-Mollo: High in the mountains in the valley of the river Tech, the ancient fortified city of Prats-de-Mollo is noted for its Romano-Gothic church with an impressive collection of gilded wooden altar-pieces, as well as a 17th century fort.
St-Martin de Canigou: an 11th century abbey, abandoned during the French Revolution and restored in the 1920s, St-Martin is perched 1,000 metres up Le Canigou, sacred mountain to the Catalan people. Now inhabited by a religious order, the abbey, including its cloister and church, can only be reached by hiking up the mountain (about a 40-minute walk along a paved trail). The visit is conducted in complete silence
St-Michel de Cuixa: a medieval monastery, which is still occupied by Benedictine monks. The visit includes a subterranean crypt, the church and the lovely cloister with its 12th century chapiteaux.
Salses: a well-preserved 15th century fort, complete with dungeon, built by the Spanish to protect the Catalan territory from the French -- a unique example of medieval military architecture
Serrabonne: 11-12th century priory, one of the great masterpieces of Roussillon Roman sculpture; noted for its tribune, sculpted out of pink marble amidst huge blocks of grey schist. Serrabone is reached by a means of a tortuous mountain road, full of hairpin turns, but spectacular views of the surrounding countryside.
Sigean: a reconstructed "safari" park, spread out over 260 hectares. It can be visited by car or on foot. The residents include: lions, Tibetan bear, white rhinoceros, camels, antelopes, zebras, leopards and alligators.
Tautavel: It was in this tiny, mountain village that Tautavel Man, deemed to be half a million years old, was discovered in the 1970s. The cave where the discovery took place can be visited, in addition to the first-rate museum, which is dedicated to prehistoric studies and features a reconstruction of this fine specimen of homo erectus, sound and light displays and a variety of interactive exhibits.
Vernet-les-Bains: a delightful town at the foot of Le Canigou. Noted for its pure mountain air and thermal waters. The 12th century Eglise St-Saturnin is well worth a visit, but it's also pleasant to stroll around the entire town, including the medieval quarter surrounding the church.
Villefranche de Conflent - a fortified city, built from pink marble. Inside the ramparts are cafes, souvenir shops and artisans' boutiques. Walk the full circuit of the ramparts, stopping to admire the Eglise St-Jacques. Dominating the city is the 17th century Fort-Liberia, which can only be reached by climbing the "thousand steps" - a great way to keep fit and get a panoramic view of the Têt river valley.
Further afield
-visits to the many Cathar castles in the region. The Cathars were a sect that broke away from the Church in the 12th and 13th centuries. To protect themselves, they built great castles high up in the mountains. Alas, they were brutally crushed by the French Crown and the Pope. The faithful were burnt at the stake.
- Le Petit Train Jaune: a yellow excursion train with open cars that takes you high into the Pyrenees
- Rennes-le-Château: a chateau with a mysterious treasure, possibly hidden by the Knights Templar
- the Roman cities of Narbonne and Béziers
- Sète: an island-city with a mountain at its centre and a network of canals; birthplace of the great chanteur Georges Brassens
- Montpellier: a cosmopolitan cultural crossroads; capital of Languedoc-Roussillon; modern and medieval
- Toulouse: a cultural and intellectual feast; visually beautiful and wonderful for strolling and exploring
- Andorra: a country within a country; beautiful scenery; great duty-free shopping
- Barcelona: the coastal capital of Catalunya; the richest, liveliest and most dynamic city in all of Spain. Main attractions include: the medieval quarter; cathedrals and museums (including a Picasso museum); La Rambla (a kilometre-long pedestrian walkway); la Boqueria (the old market); la Barceloneta (the port area), the Olympic installations; and the fantastically bizarre architecture of Gaudi, a native son. | |
French Property Shares
36 Howell St
Canandaigua, New York 14424
(001) 585 905-0849
email: info@frenchpropertyshares.com | |
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