Collioure Monday 11 September 2017

Collioure is indeed a gem.  We slept very well last night up reasonably early today to see as much as we could in the time we have.  First of all we took our laundry to the Laundromat we had googled, went for a walk along the waterfront while we waited, what a beautiful place, the town wall is mostly intact. 

This is not only a lovely place but an interesting one as well.  There is a record of the castle at “Castrum Cauocliberi” having been mentioned as early as 673 indicating that the settlement was of strategic and commercial importance.  It was taken by the French 1642 and officially surrendered to France by the 1659 Treaty of Pyrenees. 

In 1793 Collioure was besieged and occupied by Spanish troops marking the last Spanish attempt to take the city.  The blockade was broken a year later by a French General. 

There is a beautiful church Eglise Notre-Dame des-Anges de Collioure  (Our Lady of the Angels) constructed between 1684 and1691.  There are eight chapels with the most beautiful altars, the main altar being probably the most beautiful and ornate I have ever seen and Sam said that is saying something as even he has seen many.  The Chapel of St Vincent has a relic and I have put in a pic of that.  There is also the Chapel of Lourdes. 

We went back to our laundry met a couple from Sandringham funny the people you meet.  The dryer did not work had to bring back my wet washing to our hotel thank heavens I have a balcony (strict instructions in the folder not to hang anything on the balcony) what to do hung some of it on hangers put some on the balcony out of eyesight, anyway it was a good day and it pretty much dried, I have ironed it dry now and packed it away for tomorrow.  One does need to be a girl guide on these journeys. 

We spent the rest of the day seeing as much as we could.  It is a very busy little town, all old baby boomers like ourselves, what would the world do without the baby boomer, I do not think it would turn at all. There would be 100s of kerbside restaurants all full and this is not even official holidaytime.  Every hotel has no vacancy signs, too bad if you came to one of these places without a reservation you would have to sleep in the park. 

We have been out for dinner I am all organised for tomorrow we have a 9.53 local train to Perpignan then a booked train to Madrid arriving at 3.45.  We will then meet Ash at Madrid airport on Wednesday afternoon it will be lovely to see her.  Time for my bed. Sabine and Sam