Argeles-sur-Mer is a town and seaside resort on the Mediterranean coast of France, near the border with Spain and on the section of coast known as the Cote Vermeille. It sets between the low hills of the eastern Pyrenees and the beautiful Mediterranean. Argeles is a pleasant town in the Catalan style with some interesting narrow streets to explore in the remaining part of the historic village.
During World War II, Argelès-sur-Mer was the location of a concentration, where up to 100,000 defeated Spanish Republicans were interned next to a windy beach in abysmal sanitary conditions by the French government after the defeat of the Spanish Republic.
After a 3 hour train ride from Barcelona and missing my train connection in Perpignon, France, I had to book a later train, I arrived in Argeles-sur-Mer, France in the rain. Lesson learned…make sure you have more than 14 minutes to change trains in a country that does not speak much English, or if they do speak English it’s not always recognizable. One very helpful man told me to go to Platform E. I later realized, too late, that his A sounded like an E.
I fell in love with this place the first day I arrived, and every day fall deeper in love. Not just the scenery, which is amazing, but the lovely people who live here. There are lots of expats from across Europe that either live here or spend part of the year here. I love hearing the stories of their lives, how they got here and their thoughts on life.
I’m pretty excited to be spending a couple of months in one place. I can get up in the morning and not feel like I need to rush out and see the sights. I’m here long enough so that I can relax and take my time seeing things. I also have a great kitchen and can cook my food. I can go down the street to the butcher for meat, bakery for bread, seafood place for fish, a vegetable stand for fruits and veggies. There is also a “regular” grocery store if necessary. I’m also trying to get used to leaving my eggs on the counter, rather than putting them in the fridge.
My apartment is in the historic district. Yes, those stairs are in my apartment. In fact, there are two sets like this. One goes to the roof top. I know my oldest son is already in the middle of sending me a message to BE CAREFUL. LOL.
One of the best things about this place is the large market that takes place on the streets on Wednesdays and Saturdays. You can buy anything from vegetables, fruit, and meats to clothes and underwear. The vegetables and fruit are local, and the tomatoes are the best I’ve ever had. These same type of tomatoes are called “heritage” tomatoes in the US and cost about $7 per tomato.
This is my first time in France, and I am excited to see more. There are so many great towns within a 1 Euro train ride. I plan to see them all!
