7th, 8th and 9th June - Au Revoir Céret

Leaving Day. We were up at 7am, had a quick breakfast, made some bread rolls to take to the airport and lugged all our gear down to the bottom of the stairwell. It was with a bit of haste that we finally closed the door of the apartment, whispering a very quick farewell as we did so. Mats and Marianne had kindly parked their car in a street very close by, so it wasn't too far for us to carry all our luggage and load it. It amounted to 1x large ex-bike box, 2 x suitcases, 2 x backpacks/cabin bags, 2 x handbags, 2 x raincoats, 2 x winter jackets, 1 x travel pouch, 1 x bag of food. It was a lot! 

The temperature was already in the 20s by the time we set off for Barcelona airport at 9am, and we were sweating already from heaving the bags around. Mats' car didn't have air-conditioning and the 2 hour+ trip to the airport was hot work. We talked all the way so the time went pretty quickly all the same. It was with a cheery but sad goodbye that they dropped us off. Sadly, we may not see them again. 

Farewell with Marianne and Mats at Barcelona airport

Loading up a trolley, we manoeuvred our way into the terminal and found a weighing machine. Our box bike weighed 21.5kg instead of the 20.5kg our scales had showed at the apartment so we had to do some shuffling of gear out of our two suitcases into already straining cabin baggage. We had an hour to wait until the check-in opened so sat down for a cup of coffee and ate our rolls. 

Our luggage

We entered the check-in line. I put on my winter jacket then 7kg backpack, nonchalantly slung my 10kg "handbag" over my shoulder and tried to cover it with my rain jacket as much as I could. John acted similarly. When our turn came, possibly quite fortuitously, we were waved to a counter that typically processed business class passengers because none of the latter were currently queuing. Hence the guy who checked us in didn't even bother to look at or weigh our cabin bags, let alone glance at our handbags. I'd placed them all at the foot of the counter in any instance so they were hard for him to see. With no problem at all we checked in our suitcases and were directed to the oversize counter to drop off the bike box. Great - the first hurdle was safely surmounted.

Passport control and security screening were no problem. When we were processed at the boarding counter immediately before boarding we tried to hide the handbags as much as possible. With no small relief we walked down the passage and boarded the plane. 

Our cabin luggage!

The flight was 1.5 hours late leaving and we were a little concerned about our connecting flight at Doha. Our 2.5 hour transit time had taken a big hit. The captain relayed that they'd try and make up as much time as possible, but in the end the flight took the full 6 hours anticipated. 

We were expecting to have to race off the plane to try and get our connecting flight, however, the bus transfer from the plane to the terminal took about 20 minutes by itself. Thankfully John had looked on his Qatar app and found out that our connecting flight was delayed by 2 hours anyway, so the pressure was off. Walking into the terminal, the departure lounge for our next flight was right beside us, and better still there was no passport or security to have to go through. It was a refreshingly simple transit. 

Our flight leaving Doha was supposed to leave at 2.30am but left at 4.30am. By this time, we had had no sleep and were feeling a little tired. Breakfast was served on board after 5am, and we finally closed our eyes sometime getting on for 6am. We both slept/dozed very well for the next 9-odd hours. It's the best sleep we've ever had on a flight we think. That left just 4-5 hours left of the 16 hour flight. Another few movies and breakfast filled that in pretty easily. On all the Qatar flights, both to and from Europe, the meals were extremely good. 

We were feeling pretty good when we touched down at Auckland airport at 4.30am. All our luggage turned up safely, which is always a relief. We were careful to declare everything we needed to, and John had taken photos to show our walking poles had been washed, the wood backing on our paintings etc. The customs staff were really nice. They wanted to have a quick check of our small wicker bread basket but were happy with everything. It was a very happy moment to finally walk out into the public area of the terminal. Pretty promptly we transferred one of our handbags' contents plus other odds and sods into the suitcases because we'd paid for an extra bag on Air NZ - the bike box and two suitcases could each weigh 23kg (rather than 50kg total on the Qatar flights). Any extra weight on Qatar would have cost $40/kg!

Using two trolleys we wheeled our way to the domestic terminal at 5.30am. Our flight to Nelson wasn't scheduled until 8.30am, but the time until then went pretty quickly. Again, we were supposed to have just one cabin bag and perhaps a handbag. We both donned our winter jackets and raincoats, with pockets stuffed with fold-up umbrellas, chocolate bars, books and other heavy and dense items. Thankfully, at least the weather here was pretty cold - rather different to when we had put on the same attire in Barcelona airport and it was closer to 30 degrees. I didn't feel quite so absurd. That was our final hurdle - we'd managed to get all our gear onto the last flight. Phew.

The 1.5 hour flight went quickly, and rather blankly because of the cloud cover. Flying into Nelson it was raining and low cloud cover. However, it was exceptionally cheering to see the happy faces of Bella, Nic and our grandchildren waiting for us at the airport. There is nothing better than getting mobbed by your grandchildren!

After collecting our luggage, we used two cars to head to their place for a cup of tea and much anticipated catch-up on news. It was lovely to spend some time with them but we were starting to fade by early afternoon so bade farewell for now and drove home. 

Violet and Heath 

With a quick stop-off at the Founders Book Fair close to home, we picked up some great reading material to take to our new holiday home at Hanmer Springs. We rolled up at home around 3pm. Sally popped in briefly a little later on but we only managed to stay awake until 6pm. It was so nice to get into our own bed, where we promptly slept for the next 13 hours! It was good to be home.....

5th and 6th June - Last two days in Ceret

We got up to start Wednesday with a walk before it became too hot. The predicted high for today is 28 degrees. A walk down to towards the Devil's Bridge and alongside the river was an enjoyable variant on our recent walks.

Our good friends Daniele and Serge, whom we'd lunched with at their house last week, wanted to spend a last afternoon with us. They arrived at midday,  and we enjoyed a small apero at our apartment before descending the stairs to one of the restaurants in the square below us. Le Pied dans le Plat (meaning 'to put your foot in it') is a little restaurant serving simple French/Catalan food. We usually go there once or twice a year, and just about every time have their moules frites (mussels and fries). We know the waiter quite well and enjoyed a very leisurely lunch there. We all chose moules frites. 

After happily chatting away for two hours Serge was keen to have coffee on a 'terrasse' (outdoor cafe)  somewhere so we opted for Le Pablo. Apart from the odd occasion, haven't been to this bar for coffee for years. After it new owners took it over and changed it from an old-style cafe which showcased Picasso (prints not the real paintings) and his fellow painters and turned it into a modern glossy restaurant, we changed our allegiance to Le Comptoir. However, La Pablo's outdoor seating is nice and we chose an empty table. Two hours later the afternoon was marching on and it was decided that it really was time to say our final goodbyes this time. Serge and Daniele have decided it is definitely on the cards that they will come and visit us in NZ at some stage, and they are extremely keen for us to visit them at St Martin. In any instance, we will keep in touch and see how things pan out over the next year or two.

Moules and frites at Le Pied dans le Plat restaurant

Oh boy, it's been a huge day for goodbyes. After Serge and Daniele left at 4pm, we met up with a range of friends at Le Comptoir at 6pm for a final farewell. Some were at the lunch yesterday. With three tables pulled together it was quite a large group, and everyone chatted away for a few hours. At least two couples and one female friend are seriously considering coming out to NZ to visit us next year. It was very humbling how upset some were to see us leaving. 

It's been quite a day!!!

Our last day, Thursday, dawned warm and sunny, with the prospect of 31 degrees later in the day. We set off on our 1.5 hour walk through the fields and beside the irrigation canals on the outskirts of Ceret. Being confronted with two extremely aggressive dogs, thankfully constrained behind property fencing, near the end of the walk was not a nice way to finish the trek. When we got home we took yet another large bag of rubbish to the bin and our last bag of clothes/shoes for recycling. 

John bought our second-to-last croquise bread from our favoured baker. We'll buy one tomorrow morning and I'll make up some rolls to take to the airport. We will miss our lovely bread, cheese and red pepper lunches but clearly we've had a very good run.

We're glad we kept today free of social engagements. It's been a fairly intense week, in a good way, but we just wanted a quiet final day, with no pressures. In the afternoon we finished off  the cleaning and final packing. It's now just a question of eating the last few things in the fridge for dinner, and we're good to go. 

The day has been lovely, though the temperature topped out at 28 degrees. We're happy to be leaving before the seriously hot weather arrives. The forecast for Ceret is for intense thunderstorms then rain for the next 4-5 days. The mairie must be happy with the 6 weeks of rain we've had, as the street channels finally have their water back running. The forecast when we arrive in Nelson on Sunday looks like about 14 degrees and solid rain. I don't care - it will be lovely to be home. 

3rd and 4th June - Goodbye meal

We're making the most of our last week by heading out on our walks on as many occasions as possible. Today, Monday, we did our 'fields' walk, which takes just under an hour. After a bit of a touch-up we met our good friends Mats and Marianne at Le Comptoir for coffee at 11am. We have known both of them the entire time we've been in Ceret. Mats is Swedish and Marianne Norwegian. They got together as a couple perhaps 8 years ago. Mats is retired but is a very keen renovator. They've just decided to sell up Marianne's large house and garden, buy a small apartment in the centre of Ceret and spend more of their spare time with their extended families in Scandinavia.

John and I have both thoroughly enjoyed getting to know a number of Scandinavians here. We seem to be on a similar wavelength with those we've met and have shared some great times together. Magdalena, who we met yesterday for coffee, is Romanian but has lived and worked in Sweden for many years as a doctor. Her children are at a similar stage in life as ours, and she had one son working in IT in San Francisco for many years. 

As we were staying our goodbyes to Mats and Marianne, Mats asked if we'd like a lift to Barcelona airport on Friday morning. Our plan had been to catch the 6.40am 1 Euro bus from Ceret to Perpignan, then the Flixbus from Perpignan to Barcelona, walk (shuffle) with our bags the 1.4km to Place de Catalunya and catch the bus to the airport. It's our usual mode of departure. It is doable, but would take an extra amount of energy with all our luggage this time. However, M&M said they were very happy to take us to the airport and then spend the day in Barcelona. We have taken them up on their kind offer. 

The afternoon was given over to shuttling a lot of stuff to the bins in the nearby carpark. We have also filled the clothes recycling bin to the hilt. We'll have to take our last load to another recycling bin further away. The mezzanine is now all shipshape and cleaned. We spent quite a while weighing our bags, extracting some things already packed and juggling items between bags. The end result is that the bike box weighs 20.5kg, one suitcase is 14.5kg and the other 15kg. That totals 50kg, our combined limit. The cabin bags weigh 7kgs and our 'handbags' are far too heavy to contemplate and we hope they don't get weighed. In addition, I'll be wearing a winter jacket under my heavy raincoat, with pockets filled with cheese (a must), nutbars and umbrellas. John's 'handbag' will have the laptop, electronic gear, toilet bag and miscellaneous items. He will also be wearing a heavy jacket with his pockets stuffed. Alas, we've had to pull out the bottle of amaretto we bought in Spain. Our new owners will no doubt enjoy it. 

Tuesday morning saw us walk our Le Ventous route but we did it backwards this time (in direction not be walking backwards!). The days are definitely warming up and by mid-morning it's typically reached the mid-20s However, the temperature is topping out at about 27 at the moment. After I'd cleaned all the windows and we'd vacuumed and mopped most of the floors, we feel as though we've got our countdown to having the apartment all prepped pretty much under control. 

Another shower and we were off to a rendez-vous lunch with all our English and two Aussie friends. A local restaurant had been booked for 12.30pm. The day was very sunny and hot but the sun umbrellas helped immensely. Some nice words were exchanged and it was made pretty clear that we are generally thought of as being rather mad with the way we exercise so much and seem to disappear into the hinterland on trips of exploration. However, our friends were prepared to overlook this oddity and have enjoyed our friendship over the years. Likewise, they have definitely contributed to our experience of Ceret. 

Our farewell lunch

It will indeed be sad to say farewell, and some of those present had tears in their eyes. 'Drinks' have already been organised at Le Comptoir for Wednesday evening, prior to our departure on Friday morning. John and I have struggled with the exceeding regularity of evening drinks while here, but guess it is the English equivalent of going to the corner pub frequently. Having said that, a number of those present at lunch longer drink alcohol because of health and other issues. 

In fact, probably half of our friends have at least one very serious health concern. One couple has had to abort their stay here, change their airfares and head back home next week because of adverse blood test results. It's all rather disturbing. Most are 10-15+ years older than us, but not all. 

We felt the rest of the afternoon called for us to be horizontal, with our feet up watching the tennis. First though we popped into our local AXA office and terminated our car insurance. One more thing off the list, tick.

It will be just salad for dinner!

1st and 2nd June - Ceret

Saturday morning dawned and our very last market day in Ceret, possibly for ever. It was a lovely day, perfect for strolling through the stalls and soaking up the atmosphere. We'd been hoping to buy a favourite pastry treat from one of the stalls but it wasn't there today. With a large crowd the cafes were all full but we managed to grab a table at Le Comptoir. John ordered a glass of wine to celebrate our last market here but I was happy with my coffee. 

Professional dancers performing the Catalan sardanes dance

Savouring the last market

We got serious about packing our bags in the afternoon. With the bike box finally all taped up it weighed rather a lot. In fact at 21kg it's going to be a bit of a beast to cart around, but the handles John put on it should do the trick.

We have the two cabin bags packed, maxed out to 7kg. Our 'handbags' a rather weighty and we're hoping they won't be weighed when we check in. The two large suitcases are filled. Overall we are still a few kg overweight, with the last bit of clothing and toilet bag to go in. Unfortunately we've had to pull out a few things that we'd already packed. When we had lunch with Daniele and Serge the other day, Daniele had very generously given us five jars of various home-made jams and chutneys. As long as we declare them they should be fine taking them back to NZ but they weigh a lot and I think we'll have to leave them here for the new owners. They are coming to Ceret on Wednesday to have lunch and spend some more time with us. 

The fine weather really has kicked in now so we were up earlyish on Sunday morning to do our usual loop walk around Le Ventous. Not long afterwards we met up with one of our good friends for a cup of coffee. Magdalena bought our first apartment in Place de l'Eglise. She still loves it and spends a lot of time there when she is not in her adopted Sweden. However, her eldest son has recently married an Italian so she is now planning to spend a fair amount of time in the hills above Florence each year as well. We've got to know each other very well over the years, and it is with regret that we probably won't see her again. However, she has good friends who have moved to Christchurch and there is a possibility she might come and visit them. If she does we will definitely catch up. We intend to stay in contact online in any instance. 

The afternoon was given over to cleaning (me) and doing our NZ tax return (John). In-between we enjoyed watching some great tennis at Roland Garros.