Friendship & Fun in the Sun
- Raff
- Aug 16, 2019
- 4 min read
Something we were very much looking forward to was meeting up with our lovely friends Sharon and Tony, who moved to the picturesque village of Paraza fourteen years ago. Paraza sits on the banks of the Canal du Midi and is surrounded by vineyards, much which is owned by the village's very own Chateau Du Paraza. It is located in the centre of the village and welcomes guests for wine tasting and live music in the summer. It was easy to see why our friends fell in love with this beautiful place, as did we.
Having been on the road for over a month, with just each other's company, it was quite nice to engage with other people and to temporarily move out of our home on wheels. Sharon's neighbour Winnie very kindly allowed us to park our motorhome on her drive way and we were able to hook our electric up via a lead onto Sharon and Tony's patio to keep the air-conditioning running for Audrey. The temperature was peaking in the mid 30s at this stage and we were all quite warm. Our friends told us that it is unseasonably warm for this time of the year.
We spent the next few days catching up on what we had been doing, our travels, their travels, being shown around their gardens and enjoying Sharons excellent culinary skills. John availed himself of their beautiful swimming pool. We also had a day trip to Beziers and a guided tour by our hosts of this beautiful and very ancient town. The climb up to the church rewarded us with some fantastic views of the canals and the lush scenery below. We enjoyed a very pleasant lunch at an eatery in the town square of mixed tomato salad with mozzarella, accompanied by a bottle of wine.
For our last evening with our friends, we went to Narbonne for dinner and enjoyed a fabulous meal at one of our host's favourite restaurants in the city - La Table Cuisine Caviste, followed by a walk around the town. It was Bavarian week and we were able to sample some live music and Austrian folk dance in the town square. A perfect end to a fantastic stay with Sharon and Tony.
Our lovely friend Louise sent us a care package from Scotland for us to collect from Sharon and Tony - which consisting of a selection of scented candles, reed diffusers, Carmex, moisturisers, toiletries, cat food for Audrey and biscuits. It was so kind of her and we are very thankful for her generosity and thoughtfulness. It really made us appreciate the wonderful people we have in our lives!
Also, on a more practical note, we had a small washing machine delivered to Paraza for use in our motorhome. Finding laundrettes on our travels had begun to become difficult - there is no central database of laveries and it was only by chance that we discovered the automated machines in some of the larger towns we visited. Then you have to make sure you have sufficient euros to be able to feed the laundrette! We have used the machine several times now and it washes extremely well and within an hour or so we can have our washing done and on the line. In this beautiful weather, it is often dry within a few hours.
From Paraza, our next stop in the south of France was Le Bacarés, just west of Leucate on the coast. Le Bacarés is a large seaside town with a parade of coffee shops and eateries mixed in with chandleries and gift shops. It was a good base for visiting Perpignan and other towns in that location. We traveled by car to Collioure which was recommended by our friends Robyn and Dave but it was not to be - the car parks were all full and streams of people were walking down to the beach like lines of ants. The beach and promenade itself were so busy that people were having to shuffle. We decided it was a place to return to in low season so we headed further down the coast to Port Vendre, which is a charming working port town, with a line of Art Deco townhouses overlooking the marina. It was stunning, and in our opinion, as pretty as Couliers but with less people. We had packed a picnic and enjoyed this on a bench overlooking the harbour. Sharon had given us some homemade victoria sponge and we enjoyed this with a coffee.
The rest of our time in Le Bacarés was spent walking around the area, sitting outside and just relaxing. It was nice to have some down time and catch up on some odd jobs on the motorhome. The aire there was very big, situated by the side of the marina, and there was a lot of activity, people coming and going between France and Spain - transient is probably a better word to describe the place. Our last meal there was at a very popular pizzeria in the town and two pichets (carafes) of rose wine. We pushed the boat out at €3.60 per pichet, but it was well worth it!
We've really enjoyed our time in France, and now we are itching to get into Spain where, for us, the real adventure starts.
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