Langsung ke konten utama

Weekend Trip to Southern France: Céret and Collioure


Summer was coming and my Norwegian host family started to pack the bags again heading to their private mansion in France. It's been twice this year. But I don't want to talk about their marvelous mansion since it is private and they keep it unknown. It's located in Céret, a charming old town in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains in the south of France, just 25 km from the border of Spain. Therefore, cultural festivals celebrating the Catalan heritage of the region take place throughout the year.

I am lucky to be their au pair and travel for free to a place where I have never heard of and been before. Since I was new on their traveling routines, my host dad didn't stop dazzling me about Céret in our way to the mansion. They are so in love with this place and have thrown their wedding party here with an interfusion of French and Catalan culture. I have seen the wedding album when they wore traje de luces to associate with the annual bullfighting festival held in summer, Céret de Toros.

Céret represents the quintessential southern French town with an exquisite historic old town at its center, avenues of old trees lining its main throughway bordered by cafés, bistros, shops, and boutique whose table and wares are set out on the pavements in the summer. I love cherries and it made me more elated to know that Céret is also the cherries capital. Doesn't it sound lovely?

After a hard thought of how to spend the weekend off, finally I gave up to explore two small towns in Southern France, Céret and Collioure. They were actually suggested by my host dad who promoted me spending days off based on his preference towards small, authentic, intimate, and less-known towns. He also suggested me to bike around the mountain, but perhaps I was just too lazy. I preferred city breaks and never regretted so! It was also tiring to keep changing plans from Monaco, Marseille, finding lavender fields in Provence, to Montpellier, where the bus schedule never fit in.

Céret

Saturday morning, my host family and I drove down to experience Saturday market in Céret. The artisan market stalls filled the old town streets with wonderful arrays of locally produced fresh fruit and vegetables, olives, cheeses, herbs and spices, cured meats, wines and honey. It was definitely not a new experience for me because I have lived in Belgium before and the market had basically the same concept. But I think, everything in Céret seemed authentic and fresh. French people also tended to be more relaxed, warm and welcoming to the customers. 





I was quite tempted to visit the Museum of Modern Art with works by Picasso after my host mom told me that he had lived in Céret while did his artworks in the early 20th century. I am not a big fan of Picasso, but sometimes the art or design museum is a considerable place to find some inspirations. The ticket price for adults is €8 and there is a discount for students.

If a museum is not your thing, strolling around in the small lanes in the center was also soothing. I am a sucker for multicolored building and Céret was a therapy! So many cafés and gift shops are tucked into the narrow lanes leading off the squares. The unique thing about the lanes, they are flowed by clean water along the old town. They reminded me of the worse version in Indonesia where dirty and smelly gutters exist for water flowing in residential areas.

Collioure

I was almost done in Céret and stopped by in Tourist Information Center to pick up some interesting flyers and get an information about the bus towards Collioure. There is no direct bus from Céret to Collioure, but there are two different ways to opt for. First, take bus 400 from Céret to Argeles-Sur-Mér and change to bus 401 to Collioure. Second, take bus 300 or 340 to Perpignan and change to bus 400. The first one is the fastest. The latter is the best if you want to include Perpignan on a trip.

Direct buses from Céret to Perpignan go more often every Monday to Saturday. The ticket price is €1, valid for 2 hours, and possible to be paid on board. Since Perpignan is a bigger city, you could also take a train to Collioure. The ride only takes 20 minutes and the ticket price is €6.80. Though costly, taking a train is the best option if you end up being in Collioure on Sunday where the bus is operated once a day. The train goes more often and don't forget to buy the ticket in advance or online because no train stations are opened on Sunday in the village.

The cheapest way is by Le Bus €1 and it takes around 45 minutes. You can find the timetable here. During summertime, be ready to have a bus full of young people on the weekend. They have the same destination as you; feeling the breeze on the coastline. Traveling by bus was quite boring in the beginning because I only saw the vineyard and mountain along the road. But, the spectacular view of the Mediterranean sea would be coming just when I got into Collioure.




A pearl of the Vermeille coast, Collioure is known as a fishing village. But for me, it is more than that. First, it seemed like a resort, as shown by some high-end shops. Second, it is one of the romantic villages in France, rendered perfect by an almost perpetually blue sky.

To be honest, I am not a beach baby who need vitamin-sea and crammed with vacationers when summer is coming. When I heard about Collioure from my host dad, he just told me that he loves its beach and the impression of being here. He never told me about the romanticism while you roam around in this tiny village!

Collioure is a colorful village with its ochre and pink facades, multicolored Catalan boats, and the bright blue sky and sea. I stepped my feet thoroughly in the small lanes and didn't stop wowing. I am falling in love in a sudden. The facades reminded me of Cartagena, a place where always be on my bucket list. But, I don't know, it seemed like I have to skip Cartagena at the moment because Collioure has brought off the colors enticingly.



I was a solo traveler, an au pair, and also planned to stay over for one night only. Finding a cheap accommodation in Collioure was complicated, especially if I had to bear all the cost on my own. I found a small and the cheapest hotel in Port Vendres, 2 km in the south from Collioure, where people said also well-worth visiting. I agree since it's very different and far less touristy than Collioure.

Le Swan was a place where I spent the night. Its location was quite good and only 6 minutes walking from the bus stop. The owner, Paul, is an artist. He was so friendly and tried to listen to what guests need. He also showed me a route to hike down from Le Swan to Collioure, which only took around 45 minutes. For the price €21 in one night in a female opened-bulk room, you pay what you get and I couldn't complain more to what I had. The cleanliness and privacy are almost zero. But it is cheap, close to Collioure, only me who slept in the female room, so what else I should have expected? The thing is, most solo travelers also chose this place to room for one or two nights.

There is also Wednesday and Sunday market in Collioure where you cand find the same items as any lively markets around France have. The market is held through the year from 8 AM to 1 PM beneath the shade of the trees on the little Place Général Leclerc and extends down along the length of Quai de l’Amirauté. 


Komentar

  1. This is great. We will be going to both Ceret and Collioure

    BalasHapus

Posting Komentar

Postingan populer dari blog ini

Bule Ketemu Online, Bisakah Serius?

( PERHATIAN!!! SAYA BANYAK SEKALI MENERIMA TESTIMONIALS SOAL COWOK-COWOK DARI INGGRIS YANG MEMINTA ALAMAT SI CEWEK YANG DIKENAL VIA ONLINE. FYI , HAMPIR SEMUA MODUS PENIPUAN SEPERTI INI BERASAL DARI INGGRIS DAN AMERIKA! JANGAN PERNAH TERTIPU KEMASAN KULIT PUTIHNYA, KARENA BISA JADI YANG KALIAN AJAK CHATTING -AN ATAU VIDEO CALL -AN ITU ADALAH PENIPU !! JANGAN PERNAH BERI DATA DIRI SEPERTI NAMA LENGKAP, ALAMAT, SERTA NOMOR IDENTITAS ATAU KARTU KREDIT KE ORANG-ORANG ASING LEWAT DUNIA DIGITAL! BE SMART, BE AWARE, AND PLEASE JANGAN DULU BAPERAN KALO ADA YANG MENGAJAK NIKAH PADAHAL BARU SEMINGGU KENAL!!!) Selain berniat jadi au pair, ternyata blog saya banyak dikunjungi oleh cewek-cewek Indonesia yang ingin pacaran atau sedang dekat dengan bule. Gara-gara tulisan tentang cowok Eropa dan cowok Skandinavia , banyak pembaca blog yang mengirim surel ke saya dan curhat masalah cintanya dengan si bule. Aduh, padahal saya jauh dari kata "ahli" masalah cinta-cintaan. Saya sebetu

Mempelajari Karakter Para Cowok di Tiap Bagian Eropa

*I talk a lot about European boys in this blog, but seriously, this is always the hottest topic for girls! ;) Oke, salahkan pengalaman saya yang jadi serial dater  selama tinggal di Eropa. Tapi gara-gara pengalaman ini, saya juga bisa bertemu banyak orang baru sekalian mempelajari karakter mereka. Cowok-cowok yang saya temui ini juga tidak semuanya saya kencani. Beberapa dari mereka saya kenal saat workshop, festival, ataupun dari teman. Beruntung sekali, banyak juga teman-teman cewek yang mau menceritakan pengalamannya saat berkencan dari cowok ini, cowok itu, and all of them have wrapped up neatly in my head! Secara umum, tulisan yang saya ceritakan disini murni hasil pengalaman pribadi, pengalaman teman, ataupun si cowok yang menilai bangsanya secara langsung. Letak geografis Eropanya mungkin sedikit rancu, tapi saya mengelompokkan mereka berdasarkan jarak negara dan karakter yang saling berdekatan. Kita semua benci stereotipe, tapi walau bagaimana pun kita tetaplah bagi

7 Kebiasaan Makan Keluarga Eropa

Tiga tahun tinggal di Eropa dengan keluarga angkat, saya jadi paham bagaimana elegan dan intimnya cara makan mereka. Bagi para keluarga ini, meja makan tidak hanya tempat untuk menyantap makanan, tapi juga ajang bertukar informasi para anggota keluarga dan pembelajaran bagi anak-anak mereka. Selain table manner , orang Eropa juga sangat perhatian terhadap nilai gizi yang terkandung di suatu makanan hingga hanya makan makanan berkualitas tinggi. Berbeda dengan orang Indonesia yang menjadikan meja makan hanya sebagai tempat menaruh makanan, membuka tudung saji saat akan disantap, lalu pergi ke ruang nonton sambil makan. Selama tinggal dengan banyak macam keluarga angkat, tidak hanya nilai gizi yang saya pelajari dari mereka, tapi juga kebiasaan makan orang Eropa yang sebenarnya sangat sederhana dan tidak berlebihan. Dari kebiasaan makan mereka ini juga, saya bisa menyimpulkan mengapa orang-orang di benua ini awet tua alias tetap sehat menginjak usia di atas 70-an. Kuncinya, pola

First Time Au Pair, Ke Negara Mana?

Saya ingat betul ketika pertama kali membuat profil di Aupair World, saya begitu excited memilih banyak negara yang dituju tanpa pikir panjang. Tujuan utama saya saat itu adalah Selandia Baru, salah satu negara impian untuk bisa tinggal. Beberapa pesan pun saya kirimkan ke host family di Selandia Baru karena siapa tahu mimpi saya untuk bisa tinggal disana sebentar lagi terwujud. Sangat sedikit  host family dari sana saat itu, jadi saya kirimkan saja aplikasi ke semua profil keluarga yang ada. Sayangnya, semua menolak tanpa alasan. Hingga suatu hari, saya menerima penolakan dari salah satu keluarga yang mengatakan kalau orang Indonesia tidak bisa jadi au pair ke Selandia Baru. Duhh! Dari sana akhirnya saya lebih teliti lagi membaca satu per satu regulasi negara yang memungkinkan bagi pemegang paspor Indonesia. Sebelum memutuskan memilih negara tujuan, berikut adalah daftar negara yang menerima au pair dari Indonesia; Australia (lewat Working Holiday Visa ) Austria Amerika

Berniat Pacaran dengan Cowok Skandinavia? Baca Ini Dulu!

"Semua cowok itu sama!" No! Tunggu sampai kalian kenalan dan bertemu dengan cowok-cowok tampan namun dingin di Eropa Utara. Tanpa bermaksud menggeneralisasi para cowok ini, ataupun mengatakan saya paling ekspert, tapi cowok Skandinavia memang berbeda dari kebanyakan cowok lain di Eropa. Meskipun negara Skandinavia hanya Norwegia, Denmark, dan Swedia, namun Finlandia dan Islandia adalah bagian negara Nordik, yang memiliki karakter yang sama dengan ketiga negara lainnya. Tinggal di bagian utara Eropa dengan suhu yang bisa mencapai -30 derajat saat musim dingin, memang mempengaruhi karakter dan tingkah laku masyarakatnya. Orang-orang Eropa Utara cenderung lebih dingin terhadap orang asing, ketimbang orang-orang yang tinggal di kawasan yang hangat seperti Italia atau Portugal. Karena hanya mendapatkan hangatnya matahari tak lebih dari 3-5 minggu pertahun, masyarakat Eropa Utara lebih banyak menutup diri, diam, dan sedikit acuh. Tapi jangan salah, walaupun dingin dan hampa