Travel Diary: A Visit to Perpignan | EUROtoday

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My husband and I made a decision to go to Perpignan for the Faux de la Saint Jean on June 23, 2022, which is the mid-summer celebration. I wished to go the place they lit the torches within the Castillet, and several other individuals would march down the mountain into the city for a adopted celebration by fireworks.

I had no concept what to anticipate. I had been to many celebrations in Spain on this night time, however this was within the French Pyrenees with French Catalonians.

Traveling to new locations that are not notably on the principle vacationer routes, is our specialty. We love seeing new locations, and visiting the southwest portion of France on the Mediterranean facet was new to us.

We arrived in Perpignan simply as in every single place was closing for lunch. We had been ravenous and thirsty, but not even somewhat store was open. On prime of that, we had gotten misplaced attempting to drive to the middle of city the place our little resort was positioned.

After essentially the most scrumptious meal, they gave us directions on methods to get to city and park. We must stroll our suitcases to the resort, as there was no parking or driving on this space. We had the deal with of our resort however nonetheless couldn’t discover it.

Our GPS stored sending us to an alleyway that was a useless finish. Fortunately for us, we noticed a small restaurant that mentioned hamburgers on the skin, however occurred to be Moroccan, and so they had been keen to serve us. We had been so exhausted that the employees, sensing this, introduced us a pot of mint tea.

There was no signal or any indication that there was a resort anyplace within the neighborhood. But we did see a painted pink door and the quantity 8. I felt sure that this was the place, and after contacting the hosts, we found that they’d anticipated us later.

It was a small family-owned spot that had a couple of flats, with house owners dwelling upstairs. Our house was unbelievable and large. We had a full bed room separate from the lounge and small eating space, all decked out in unimaginable antiques the proprietor had restored. I felt like I used to be at an artist’s house from the late 1800’s and instantly lounged on the inexperienced velvet sofa.

Right outdoors our resort was somewhat outside restaurant. It was fairly scorching that day, so we settled on a chilly inexperienced pea gazpacho known as Gazpacho vert de Avignon and grilled prawns with pastis. Fortunately, they’d a signboard as they spoke a French we weren’t acquainted with.

The subsequent day was the celebration. We had deliberate on going to the seashore to look at it, however the bus drivers had been putting, so they might rejoice the day. Walking downtown, we went to seek out the Castillet.

All round city, there have been individuals promoting issues for the occasion, like particular herb packs of dried flowers, which I purchased, and other people singing in Catalan. There is unimaginable artwork all through this downtown space.

We had an excellent lunch by the River Basse, which is a tributary of the River Tet. It has lovely inexperienced banks, and it was embellished for the vacation. We determined to have lunch close to the river.

The meals right here in Perpignan is unbelievable, a mix of French and Spanish with some Moroccan too. After lunch, we toured the world seeking to see the place the festivities could be. They did not begin till 10pm, so we went again to our resort to relaxation.

Around 8:30 we left to seek out dinner close to the castillet. Fish right here predominates, and we had a unbelievable fish dinner with a lot of greens. At 10 p.m., it was nonetheless somewhat mild out. We walked to the castillet to discover a spot to look at the festivities.

It was filled with individuals enjoying music from the little fortress. Finally, we might see the individuals coming into city with lit torches and the mayor main the procession. There was dancing and a few small floor fireworks.

Right round 10:45, they began capturing off fireworks from the highest of the fortress (castillet). It was fabulous. Perhaps the most effective fireworks I’ve ever seen. They went on for about an hour. We had been surprised. I really like being with individuals who rejoice mid-summer.

My husband and I like visiting locations that aren’t on prime of everybody’s listing. The individuals we met on this city mentioned they not often encountered Americans right here. I’m glad we got here.