Perpignan - Cote Catalan
Aunty Fay, Marylene and the boys saw us off at St Jean Pied de Port station and we caught the first of three trains which finally saw us arrive at our next stop - Perpignan on the Cote de Catallanes, which is on the south coast of France near the Spanish border. It took us about 9 hours to get there and when we arrived we were met by our friend Fran Freshwater who married Tama’s best friend from College Perry Freshwater. Perry is a professional rugby player and is captain of Perpignan and was also chosen to represent England in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. It was really awesome to see her as Tama had been a groomsman and MC at their wedding in December of last year and we had both been looking forward to finally seeing their house (and newly finished swimming pool). They had recently got a new puppy called Sasha and she was a ball of energy and fun and needless to say we were smitten straight away. Perry’s mother Eva and her husband Barry were also there and it was great to see them both as well.Like in St Jean Pied de Port it was great to be in a home with our own bedroom and a kitchen etc (and the bonus of a swimming pool in the backyard). Their house and garden are beautiful.
The next day we cycled into Perpignan with Barry and Eva. It was a lovely scenic ride along the river that took about 30 mins. Once we arrived we went sightseeing through the city centre.It was a gorgeous city and once again we were both blown away by the historical architecture throughout. There is a castle, a cathedral, a little stream and lots of little narrow lanes lined with gorgeous buildings. We stopped at a little cafe in a beautiful square for a drink and looked in some shops. Eva kindly got Tama and I a map of Barcelona as we were planning to go there in between world cup games!
When we got home that afternoon it was wine and cold beers by the pool with a lovely dinner. We also watched Perry's rugby game. We all wore one of Perry's England rugby jerseys to support him. We found it hard supporting England! Only for Perry! Don't think we'll ever wear an England jersey again!
Eva and Barry left to go tramping around Europe and Fran flew to London to be with Perry and the England team in the their hotel as they prepared for the World Cup so we were left to house, dog and swimming pool sit! We thoroughly enjoyed this time using Fran’s car to drive up and down the coastline going to the Plage (beach) soaking up the sun and having a good look around. We went to a couple of their local beaches and also for a day trip to Cannes which was gorgeous.
Probably one of the highlights was when we went to a beachfront avenue that was lined with rustic shack like buildings that all sold fresh seafood. We had the most incredible oysters as well as some beautiful rose and baguette. YUM!
When Fran got back from England we all went to one of her and Perry’s local beachfront restaurants called Zaza’s. It is only open during the summer months and the seafood there was divine. You can’t really beat seafood that fresh and cooked with that French flair, plus the fact that we were sitting on big cushions around a table on the beach looking out over the sea – yup horrible I know!
While we were in Perpignan a special package arrived from New Zealand courtesy of our friend Iain Jamieson – tickets to every All Black match up to the Quarter Finals of the 2007 World Cup. Tama was excited to say the least. When the courier finally figured out where to come to, he tore open the envelope and you should have seen his smile!
The next thing you knew we were planning our next big adventure to go off to the Coupe du Monde 2007 - Rugby World Cup - first stop...... coming soon!
Eva and Barry left to go tramping around Europe and Fran flew to London to be with Perry and the England team in the their hotel as they prepared for the World Cup so we were left to house, dog and swimming pool sit! We thoroughly enjoyed this time using Fran’s car to drive up and down the coastline going to the Plage (beach) soaking up the sun and having a good look around. We went to a couple of their local beaches and also for a day trip to Cannes which was gorgeous.
Probably one of the highlights was when we went to a beachfront avenue that was lined with rustic shack like buildings that all sold fresh seafood. We had the most incredible oysters as well as some beautiful rose and baguette. YUM!
When Fran got back from England we all went to one of her and Perry’s local beachfront restaurants called Zaza’s. It is only open during the summer months and the seafood there was divine. You can’t really beat seafood that fresh and cooked with that French flair, plus the fact that we were sitting on big cushions around a table on the beach looking out over the sea – yup horrible I know!
While we were in Perpignan a special package arrived from New Zealand courtesy of our friend Iain Jamieson – tickets to every All Black match up to the Quarter Finals of the 2007 World Cup. Tama was excited to say the least. When the courier finally figured out where to come to, he tore open the envelope and you should have seen his smile!
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