Let's go to the beach!

Next up on our Tour de France is the the lovely beach town of Collioure.  This is a Catalan town, just 15 miles from the Spanish border.  True to form, we arrived on Market Day so of course battled between the GPS instructions, and pedestrian filled street closures...oh, with a bunch of tour busses thrown in!  But between John driving, and me navigating from the back seat, we made it to our hotel!

One of the things we have really enjoyed is how totally different each town is that we have stayed in.  And this one did not disappoint.  Pastel buildings, terra cotta tile roofs, lighthouse, stone lookouts high on mountains, castle ruins, pebble beaches, harbor, fishing boats, twisting and winding lack streets, lots of ice cream stands, more seafood restaurants than you can count, and Catalan streamers/flags everywhere!  This is where the Pyrenees mountains meet the sea and it is lovely!

These are traditional anchovy fishing boats called catalans.  Collioure is known as the anchovy capital of the world, having the best anchovies in the world...and so many anchovy stores!  None of us are anchovy fans, but we all had some, just to say we did!  None of us became converts, but after a few of them, I think we all agreed they were "ok".

J&B dipping their toes in the Mediterranean...a tad chilly was the report.

Catalan flags above all the streets.  The Catalan region extends from Perpignan, France to Barcelona, Spain.  The Spanish Catalans, consider themselves Catalan first...and Spanish second.  However, in France, the French Catalans consider themselves French first and Catalan second...it's quite a difference in outlook.  The quirky front desk woman at the hotel (who is Catalan herself, said the Spanish Catalans are "crazy" for their outlook.  She got quite worked up when I asked her to explain the difference to me! 

The colors of the town were so pretty...and just so "beachy!"  It's postcard perfect!

Sooooo.....many little patches of strong little vines growing in this area.  We had read about a specific small, family owned and operated winery called La Tour Vieille and we were hoping for a visit and tasting.  We had pulled in to it on the day we arrived in Collioure and a gentleman came out and explained that he was closed for 2 hours as it was lunch (so French!)...we would have to come back later.  Well, we did return the next day and had a lovely experience.  The owner, Vincent Candelas, seemed not to recognize us but he, and his dog, allowed us in.  He was doing some paperwork, moving some wine around, leaving us just standing there.  Then he eventually got around to talking with us!  Upon hearing that we were from California he proudly showed us a pallet of wine he was shipping to Berkeley, CA!  He ships just a small quantity to an importer there, who then distributes it throughout the US (mostly in the Pacific North West), so we will be on the lookout for it!

Although he started off a bit gruff, we won him over and we were all laughing together by the end (he even offered Babette a cigarette, which she declined!).  We tasted 6 (I think!) wines; about half way through, a young woman who owns a wine shop in the next town over, came in to taste and place an order.  It was really interesting to watch her taste, take notes, and be part-time interpreter for us.  She was delightful and just enhanced our experience of "hanging with the locals"! (And yes, we bought several bottles of wine from our new friend Vincent!)

Vincent's wife was upstairs in the office working, and the dog was running around both upstairs and down, trying to get John to play with him!  

Our friend Vincent, showing us what the "soil" is that all the Collioure grapes are growing in...not much dirt, just sedimentary rock, but porous like sandstone so it holds moisture "like a sponge" he explained.

What are these you ask?  They are jugs of fortified wine that have been pulled out of their casks and placed in large glass jugs (with a tin can on top!)...and they are sitting alongside the driveway aging!  Vincent makes 3 variety of sweeter wines called Banyuls wine, and this is part of the process. "La cage aux fioles" translates to "the cage of vials".

All of the vineyards here are terraced with lovely stone walls forming the terraces.  It's all dry farming...no irrigation - only rainwater. Apparently last year there was drought here (something we can certainly relate to), so Vincent is worried about his grapes...fingers crossed.  Vincent has 13 hectares of vines. Due to the terraced nature of the vineyards, all work must be done by hand (or "by back" as Vincent said "par le dos")...no machines can tend and harvest the grapes.  And as we were driving around, we spotted many vineyards with just one solitary worker bent over a vine, tending it.

Seriously, how lovely is this...vineyards with the Mediterranean in the background!

Driving around here, we saw a version of this view at every turn...and never got tired of it!

As you might be able to tell from our hair, it was quite windy here in Collioure.  In fact we were told that it is windy 300 day a year!

Collioure won us over.  It is a bit off the beaten path, and less well-known than some of the other French towns on the Mediterranean, but that is part of it's charm...it's less crowded than its better-known counterparts (although I hear its more crowded with French vacationers in July and August!  And the touch of Spanish/Catalan vibe makes it feel fun.  As Rick Steves says about Collioure: "Paradise reclaimed"!