1805 In Collioure

Our hotel is in a great location, about 2 minutes from the waterfront. We walked straight out of the hotel this morning and just around the corner was the local market. I bought two pairs of 3/4 pants (peddle-pushers to some of us) for a cheap price. Steve thinks they're spiffy. We also bought a couple of slices of fruit loaf and some fruit and then walked around the harbour, put our feet in the sea and decided swimming was out of the question, went back to the hotel and booked a room in Nimes for 4 nights, walked up to the railway station and bought train tickets, then back to the pebbly beach for a picnic lunch.

After lunch we continued to explore the town. There is a series of forts here. The navy seems to use the one on the waterfront for training and for diving practice. Another fort is visible on a high hill overlooking the town so we decided to walk up to it and the check out the windmill on a closer hill at the same time. There are towers on surrounding hills and in the distance a very large fort (perhaps at Port Vendres). The walk did us good and the views were spectacular. Grape farmers were at work cutting grass on the steep slopes. The weather was glorious - in fact we've had blue sky combined with a cool wind for four days in a row now. In the direction of Africa was a high dust cloud stretching as far as the eye could see.

The windmill was used for grinding something. I guess it could have been for pressing olives as there are olive tress surrounding it. If it was used for anything else, it would have been a mission carrying the produce up to the mill.

Matisse painted many scenes in and around Collioure and at places which he was inspired to paint there is a copy of his painting and sometimes an empty frame of the view as well as the painting. I thought this was a great idea.

Stayed at Hotel Princess de Catalogne for AU $226 for 2 nights.