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.
