2. Barcelona, Quillan and Beyond

We made it safely to Quillan after unexpected delays and adventures at the Atlanta airport, Barcelona car rental, and Barcelona traffic heading out  of town. Flight to Barcelona was delayed 1.5 hours or so for an unclaimed luggage/missing passenger snafu, and to refuel the plane after the delay. Car rental at Barcelona was one long slog, accidentally busing to another terminal miles and miles away from our landing spot, paperwork snafu unravelled by Emi, my Spanish Alamo new best friend, which eventually got us on the road with our Volvo rental. THEN the Barcelona traffic: must've been rush hour on Friday evening, all lanes jammed and mass motorcycler-madness between the traffic lanes. Yikes, we were ever glad to finally escape the extended urban area! We have loosely planned to spend some time exploring Barcelona at the end of this trip...let's see how we feel about it in three weeks.

Today’s automobile-GPS improvements meant we had good directions on our 4 hour drive to Quillan. Up the Spanish coast, into France, then head west to Quillan. Beautiful scenery, very dry looking from recent drought and forest fires, mountainous with occasional interesting ancient castles or forts or houses visible on the slopes. We entered vast stretches of vineyards; didn’t expect this to be a wine area. Finally we found cousin Paulita’s home in Quillan. She and Husband Earl treated us like royalty, with a charcuterie supper and drinks on the outdoor patio of their beautiful home, plus a visit from their nearby Scottish neighbors. Delightful way to end our travels from last 18 hours or so, Friday evening in France.

Paulita and Earl introduced us to the fantastic rental house we lucked into, with just enough time to find the bed and open the window for river sounds. Upon waking Saturday morning, we explored our temporary home. Photos won’t do it justice, but suffice it to say we are living on the banks of the River Aude in Quillan, by the whitewater stretch where the French kayak team trains for Olympic competition, with our view across the river dominated by the river below and the ancient ruins of the Quillan Castle. The house we’re in in so deceptive from the exterior, you’d think it was a warehouse or basement apartment. No yard or grand entrance, just a blue door and roll-up garage entry facing a narrow street that mostly resembles a paved alley. Once inside, there are four floors of living space, with our portion being found on the third floor, up 45 steps, the last part being an ancient wood spiral staircase! We have a huge living room dominated by floor to ceiling bookcases filled to the brim with reading material and a TV, two bedroms, two bathrooms, and many couches! I’ll try to capture the place in pictures. We love it so far…but are careful on the stairways! 

Our view of the whitewater part of River Aude below our rental house, with Quillan castle ruin above

Most of Saturday morning was spent at Paulita’s artist/author festival in the village of Chalabre, a few miles away. My plan to bicycle there to meet up was thwarted by me sleeping late, instead of reassembling my bike for the trip! So Lynn, Earl and I  drove instead. The scenery was mountainous and beautiful, and I got to see the scale of the climbs cyclists have to contend with in this area. I’m up for it. 

Paulita and her fellow artisans, authors and sales people took over an old hotel (under restoration) in Chalabre for the day, hoping for sales to benefit an animal charity. While they toiled, Lynn, Earl and I explored the town to find some food and drink, finally landing in a “locals bar” with the classic French outdoor seating near the street. No food, just drinks, so we tucked in. Later we made it back to Paulita’s event, found some cake to buy, and relaxed inside talking to many many English-speaking expats attending the event. Drove backdown the mountains to Quillan, and found an empty table and chairs at a cafe run by one of their friends,” Le Calibri”, very near the house Lynn and I are renting. A few more drinks, some pastry, and it was time to walk 5 minutes home to reassemble my bike. 

The bike survived shipment on our airplane very well, the hard case protecting it perfectly.  Our garage is already filled with the bikes, motorcycle, and play-gear of our host, so I cleared a work space and dug in. An hour or so later, my first test ride in France was a success. Earl and I have plans to cycle tomorrow to Esperaza, to meet up with our spouses, and learn the wacky recent history of this unique place. 

We finished the day with supper at a local restaurant “Auberge le Demi-Sel”, all within a 10 minute walk from our house. On the way we saw a wedding party along the river bank; they look as happy as us, or maybe more so! Got to try to talk cars with a guy driving a 1966 Peugot Roadster like I remember seeing in an old French movie. Lynn had to pull me out of the fire when the owner spoke no English and my few words of French ran out. Later we ate Gallettes (thicker than crepes), followed by Crepe Nutella…what could be better?

Tomorrow:  Esperaza and whatever looks interesting.