I decided to rent a car to do more in-depth exploring in this region, and primarily to drive up into the Pyrenees Mountains and explore the small villages on the way.
The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly 500 km from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of 3,404 metres at the peak of Aneto.
With a smattering of English, a lot of French and Google Translate, I managed to rent a car. And off I go!
The car is manual drive, so since it’s been a while since I drove with a stick shift, it did take a bit to getting used to, but I got the hang of it again. The good news is that in France, they drive on the right side of the road. The really great news is that the French are very courteous and polite drivers. Hardly anyone speeds, and no one drives in the left lane, unless they are passing . Unlike the Seattle area, people are generally not aggressive drivers . It felt like we were all looking out for each other rather than everyone just out for their for themselves. Having said that, I realize that this likely doesn’t apply to larger cities.
There are more round-abouts here than I’ve ever seen, anywhere. Everyone seemed to know the rules and it went pretty smoothly, EXCEPT for the one time I got caught in rush hour traffic in Perpignan….so much for courteous French drivers, the round-about literally turned into a free for all. I’ve decided that rush hour will put anyone off their game so going to stand my my statement that French drivers are mainly courteous.
I drove into the beautiful village of Céret, sitting at the base of the Albères Massif (south range in the Pyrenees). This medieval town is full of shady avenues and tall plane trees. The Porte d’Espagne is a relic of the town’s medieval ramparts.
After wandering around the village, I went back to the main square where everyone was sitting at outdoor cafes having lunch. I saw duck risotto on one of the restaurant menu and that was all I needed to know about where I would be eating lunch.
Anyone who knows me well, will know that if I go out to eat, and risotto is on the menu, that’s what I will be having.
In Spain, I had the best risotto that I’ve ever had so the bar was pretty high. Well, I have a new favorite.
The risotto was so creamy and the duck was amazing! The BEST I’ve ever had.
One thing I noticed while driving around was that most of the cars (no pick-up trucks) on the road are either black, white, or some version of brown or grey.
Guess what color my rental Puegeot is…..yep, neon green!
No way the French are going to think I’m a local.
