'Framed by the peaks of the Pyrenees, Perpignan radiates out from the tight knot of the old town's warren of alleys, palm-shaded squares and shabby tenements painted in shades of lemon, peach and tangerine.' - the Lonely Planet description for Perpignan pretty much sums it up.
After sadly bidding farewell to Barcelona, peppered by cafes, bars, bakeries or florists on every corner, we boarded our bus for France. As we neared the border of Spain and France, we were all checked for ID by the gendarme . Good thing we had passports handy as we were getting a bit casual about travelling between EU countries; it's all Catalonia isn't it? The other most exciting visual stimulus of the trip was the massive snow covered mountains in the distance - oops, should I have packed thermals rather than thongs?
Upon arrival, a brusque and icy walk took us and our luggage to our next abode, a character filled Art Deco house booked through Homeexchange.com when I was approached for my 'balloon'; for those of you unacquainted to this system, it's like a credit you get from hosting someone at your house; having included Perpignan as one of my potential stays on my homepage, I was approached to stay here; the owner Cathy couldn't meet and greet so sent her Mother, who I worked out must have been in her late 70s or 80s. Although Huguette spoke no English and we spoke very limited French we understood the basics of the apartment, and in particular to the three heavy locks at the front door. Fortunately the sturdy European hydronic heating kicked in just as I was wrapping myself in blankets and we settled in for a cosy evening inside - as most restaurants are closed on Sundays and Mondays. Guess which days we are in Perpignan for? Whilst using Google maps to search for supermarkets, we learnt that the French term is supermarché so instead, Google maps took us to a mystery corner with no food or market; fortunately a local gent who couldn't speak English was somehow able to point us to where we could buy food - and then proceeded to talk in detail in French despite us not following a word he said. Supermarché, of course is a much more romantic sounding term.
Today, after discovering that all museums are open most days - Sauf Lundi (except Monday) and it was Monday(!) and rain was forecast, and the weather was unseasonably cold, we went on a walk, taking in the old quarter; by old I'm talking medieval, around 13th century, not 19th century! Although not much was open on Mondays, this afforded us great photo ops and a very uncrowded visit to The Cathedral Basilica of Saint John the Baptist. As Wikipedia says: The cathedral was begun in 1324 by King Sancho of Majorca, and later finished in the 15th century. It replaced the Cathedral of Elna, and therefore the church was at first the seat of the Bishop of Elne, and then, from 1602, of the Bishop of Perpignan–Elne.
As for Perpignan in general: although it doesn't attract nearly the amount of tourists of other French, Spanish or Catalonian towns, it is worth noting that Surrealist Salvador Dalí proclaimed it to be the "Center of the Universe" after experiencing a vision of cosmogonic ecstasy there in 1963, coincidentally the year I was born; great to know Dali was doing ecstacy in Perpignan when I was born in Upper Ferntree Gully, Victoria. I should have known.
Originally published in http://www.mytripjournal.com/helenineurope 14/5/2018
I stayed at a home through homeexchange.com