No Rain in Spain
Or in France for that matter!
Here in the Possum Kingdom we are in the midst of a glorious autumn. It's almost impossible to look anywhere and not be impressed by how beautiful the whole place is. I drove to Limoux today to run some errands, and the vineyards have all turned golden-red. The early morning sun was making a gentle mist rise above the vines and they were shining in the golden light. Really, it's enough to take your breath away.
As I mentioned, we went to Spain yesterday. I suppose for me, it's too much like looking at the countryside in Southern California. Lots of scrub, pines, stone, dry vegetation, etc. It just didn't do anything for me.
Also, there is just so much rampant construction everywhere that one just despairs to see so little of the countryside remaining. We went to Cadaques, which is a pretty town (didn't get to the Dali museum though) that is definitely NOT for the riffraff. There are some amazing haciendas on the hillside and you can understand why the beautiful people are drawn there. Still, it's just not my cup of tea.
We drove down on the back roads, as opposed to the freeway. The last time we were in the region on the French side, I was pretty sick with my stomach bug, so it was nice to see it when I didn't have 103 degree temperature. Put the whole place in a different perspective. We really loved driving through the Banyuls wine region, which was very wild and beautiful. In fact, without trying to sound chauvinistic, we really enjoyed the drive on the French side far more than on the Spanish side.
Interestingly, you can basically cross from France into Spain on the coast without anyone stopping you. There's an old customs outpost, but it appears to be totally abandoned.
This was not the case on the return trip, which we did do on the freeway. The Spanish and French customs agents have booths one right after the other and both of them appeared to be very interested in stopping cars. I suppose they're looking for drugs, as that seems to be the main European drug corridor. Clearly, JM, Maggie and I did not seem threatening as no one even gave us a second glance.
I suppose it's not fair to judge a place by a single afternoon day trip. And, of course, we haven't been to Barcelona yet, which I know lots of our friends adore, but I have to say that so far, I don't feel a burning desire to return to the Costa Brava. I think we've found paradise right here in the Possum Kingdom.
Ciao for now.
Randy
Here in the Possum Kingdom we are in the midst of a glorious autumn. It's almost impossible to look anywhere and not be impressed by how beautiful the whole place is. I drove to Limoux today to run some errands, and the vineyards have all turned golden-red. The early morning sun was making a gentle mist rise above the vines and they were shining in the golden light. Really, it's enough to take your breath away.
As I mentioned, we went to Spain yesterday. I suppose for me, it's too much like looking at the countryside in Southern California. Lots of scrub, pines, stone, dry vegetation, etc. It just didn't do anything for me.
Also, there is just so much rampant construction everywhere that one just despairs to see so little of the countryside remaining. We went to Cadaques, which is a pretty town (didn't get to the Dali museum though) that is definitely NOT for the riffraff. There are some amazing haciendas on the hillside and you can understand why the beautiful people are drawn there. Still, it's just not my cup of tea.
We drove down on the back roads, as opposed to the freeway. The last time we were in the region on the French side, I was pretty sick with my stomach bug, so it was nice to see it when I didn't have 103 degree temperature. Put the whole place in a different perspective. We really loved driving through the Banyuls wine region, which was very wild and beautiful. In fact, without trying to sound chauvinistic, we really enjoyed the drive on the French side far more than on the Spanish side.
Interestingly, you can basically cross from France into Spain on the coast without anyone stopping you. There's an old customs outpost, but it appears to be totally abandoned.
This was not the case on the return trip, which we did do on the freeway. The Spanish and French customs agents have booths one right after the other and both of them appeared to be very interested in stopping cars. I suppose they're looking for drugs, as that seems to be the main European drug corridor. Clearly, JM, Maggie and I did not seem threatening as no one even gave us a second glance.
I suppose it's not fair to judge a place by a single afternoon day trip. And, of course, we haven't been to Barcelona yet, which I know lots of our friends adore, but I have to say that so far, I don't feel a burning desire to return to the Costa Brava. I think we've found paradise right here in the Possum Kingdom.
Ciao for now.
Randy
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