A glimpse of the Mediterranean , more of the Pyrenees a few more Chateau’s and an active monastery.

We left Monday, May 8th, for Prades, France. We stayed in a lovely, 4 room B&B that looked out onto to Pyrenees. We took the ‘Little Yellow Train’ into the mountains from Villefrance-de-Conflent to Font-Romeu which is about an 1 1/2 hr. ride. Font -Romeu is a ski town and also has a large Solar Energy Testing site. The train ride was actually pretty disappointing. I would recommend driving the route instead.

We also went to the market in Prades, hiked to the Abbaye St. Martin du Canigou ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbey_of_Saint-Martin-du-Canigou ) which is an active Monastery. After the hike, we stopped off at the Baines de St. Thomas and relaxed in the thermal baths and topped the day with a short walk around Villefrance-de-Conflent, a walled city at the base of the Pyrenees ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villefranche-de-Conflent )

On the drive back to Limoux we stopped in Eus, another walled city, Collioure and Port Vendres on the Mediterranean where we had our first taste of Rabbit Stew.

After a day of recovery (laundry), we drove to Lastour, France where you can visit 4 castles built on the same hill. Kind of like driving to 4 corners in the US just to say you’ve been to those 4 states.

We only have 2 weeks left in Limoux before taking off to England where we’ll spend a little over 6 weeks. We’re planning several day trips, attending some music events and maybe an overnight or two to nearby towns.

So far, no major mishaps. Only a missed train, broken glasses and a few missed turns.

Weather over French countryside.