We left early, before anyone else at the chateau was stirring. Although the setting
was beautiful and the building very interesting, we were disappointed with our stay at
Chateau de Grezan. The lack of security, the all-night noise, a strangely complicated lock
on the front door, no early breakfast, and Madame’s seeming disinterest in her guests: all
made this the first regrettable choice of the many places we have stayed. The Chateau de
Pintray in the Loire region and Chateau de Roussan near St Remy de Provence, both
family-operated, were far more gracious and solicitous to their guests.
We drove through Beziers (I think we were finally beginning to understand the streets)
and took the highway south past Narbonne and on to Perpignan. Our original plan had been
to stay two days in Collioure and then drive all the way to Marseille, but we soon realized
that would be a very long trip on an uninteresting highway. So we decided to drive only as
far as Perpignan, drop off the car, and then take the train to Marseille. We drove into Perpignan,
scouted the Hertz location, bought our rail tickets for Monday, and tried to get back on the highway.
As in Beziers, we got into a circular route outside the old citadel walls and couldn't find the road to the
main highway south. Instead we ended up east of the main highway on local roads, but at least were
near the coast of Roussillon, the region south of Languedoc.
We headed south and passed many expensive
tourist resorts which had been built on the sandy coastline. We arrived at Collioure in the
early afternoon and checked into our hotel, Le Bon Port. We had asked for a room with a "sea view" but
found a huge tree outside the window. The concierge explained that the sea was on the other side of
the tree. Aaah. Yes.
Collioure is a fishing village, somewhat commercialized but still quite attractive. Matisse
"discovered" the town in 1905 and, attracted by the light, the sun and the blue of the sky and sea,
persuaded other painters to join him. It soon became an artists' mecca, attracting Derain, Dufy,
Dali and Picasso. The harbor is full of “working” fishing boats, as well as the four brightly colored ones
that seem to remain anchored for the benefit of tourists and tour-guide photographers.
There are beaches which seemed quite popular during our stay. The town was not too
crowded, although it is said the months of July and August bring hoards of visitors and
long lines of traffic.
After a delicious lunch at Le Saint Elme, a beachside seafood restaurant (moules for Al,
salmon for me), I headed back to the hotel to rest while Al wandered about with his
camera. He returned with wine, bread, cheese and eclairs. Very sensible. We soon set out to
explore the Chateau Royal, built by the Knights Templar in the 13th century; the Eglise Notre-Dame-des-Anges
(Church of Our Lady of the Angels), which
was built in the 17th century; and the outer fortifications of the old city. The sea and the old stone
lighthouse
tower are especially striking in the late afternoon light or at sunrise. We noticed a poster on a wall
advertising a concert at the Chateau Royal that night so, after a pizza dinner, we went to the concert.
The concert, part of a summer series featuring classical artists from many parts of France,
took place in a courtyard within the chateau. Tonight’s performers were the “Trio
Architecture et Music de Paris” which consisted of an oboe, clarinet and bassoon playing
Beethoven and Mozart. The third work was a world premier of a work by a young lady
named Analit Simonian called ‘L’Introuvable”, dedicated to the Chateau Royal itself. A
cello joined the group to perform the new work. They were also accompanied
by Mother Nature, in the guise of a strong wind. Clothes pins were used to secure the music to
the music stands, but to no avail. Sheet music blew across the stage. Then one
of the lights used to illuminate the music for the musicians went out. A music stand
slipped spread-eagled to the floor. Was Victor Borge in the wings? The audience
tried hard to stifle laughs, and the musicians took it all good-naturedly. This was a highly
accomplished group. However, we were cold and tired, and the chairs were uncomfortable,
so we left at intermission. And learned the next morning that we missed a complimentary wine
tasting after the performance. Darn.
9 September, Sunday
Collioure
Al was out early to take photos. At petit dejeuner ( breakfast) I recognized the cellist from
last night’s concert. For the first time ever, without Al around to bail me out, I initiated a
conversation with a Frenchman who knew no English; and it went fairly well, if I do say so myself. I told him I
had been at the concert and enjoyed it very much. He thanked me and told me he was the
father of the composer of the new work. He seemed complimented that I would
recognize and congratulate him. Our conversation was short, awkward and rather rudimentary but,
boy, was I proud of myself. Maybe I’ll get the hang of this language someday!
We walked up the hill behind our hotel. There was an old windmill and farther up, Fort
St-Elme. This is one of the two forts that once guarded the port. The other, Fort
Miradou, lies north of town, too far for us to explore in our two days here. The trail up to
Fort St-Elme was narrow, winding and sometimes steep; but we persevered and finally
made it to the top, only to find it is now a private residence. Bummer. Rather than go
back down the same way, we set out to see where the paved road on the other side of the
hill would take us. It wound its way toward Port Vendres, which is home to one of the
most active fishing fleets on the Roussillon coast. We didn’t go into Port Vendres but
instead walked back to Collioure along the cliffs above the sea.
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