Thursday 24 November 2016

It's beginning to look a lot like ..... Autumn!

After a blazing hot summer and a couple of false starts when I thought winter was on the way and got all my warm clothes out of the attic, the weather has now settled down and we are now enjoying some spectacular scenery as Autumn has arrived.  Instead of describing it, I will just show you some pretty pictures:

Vines
Vineyards with Albère mountains in distance

Wild Olive Trees

Wild Olive Trees
Aloe Vera Plant


                                   

Who can resist a sign saying 'Help Yourself'?!  





And just in case there aren't enough dog pictures...










Monday 18 July 2016

Too close for comfort.



There have been fires all over the department recently (due to wind, high temperatures and idiots with cigarettes) but this one was a bit close! It looked like a large bonfire to start with but definitely not the time of year for that so rang the fire brigade.  They arrived within 5 minutes but the fire was already out of control.  So scary to see it cross the road and burn the fields where we walk the dog each night, and the noise of the trees burning sounded like rocks falling down a mountainside. The 'waterbomb' helicopter hovered over the house but our pool is too close to the house for it to safely 'dip' into so it made several journeys to Lake Raho and back.  

By this time there were around 6 fire trucks but as the fire advanced towards the vineyard in front of us, and the smoke became uncomfortable to breathe, we decided to make some emergency preparations.  One of us put the sprinklers on, positioned hosepipes around the garden, opened the front gate and parked the cars facing the road ready for a quick getaway if necessary; the other one (I’m not saying who!) ran around like a lunatic filling a bag with IPads, telephones, chargers, make-up and a change of underwear! 


Luckily it has been brought under control now and we didn’t have to evacuate.  Looking out of the window all is normal in the garden and the dog is enjoying playing in the sprinklers.  I have never been so close to a fire before and had no idea of the speed and violence of the way it takes hold - and hope never to experience anything like that again. 

Tuesday 22 March 2016

Information, Information, Information

Perpignan airport was always a bit like a favourite elderly relative that you looked on it with affection, while accepting their faults.  It has been described as ‘a little scruffy and quirky’ – and that was a compliment!   While they are pretty good at getting planes to arrive and depart on time, they appeared to have given to thought to the well-being and onward travel plans of the passengers.   For instance, there was no official airport shuttle bus (you had to know the timetable of the Line7 Cabestany bus which would then drop you off at Place Catalogne in town, 1km from the bus and train station), there were never enough staff at the car hire desks (even if they were miraculously open at the same time that a flight arrived), and there were no tourist information boards –no pretty pictures showing what to do in the region and no advice on how to get there (or even how to leave the airport!)

Happily the airport is now having a facelift and it appears to be major surgery as the process has been going on for years.  At it's worst, the check-in area was a building site with plastic sheeting stapled to the walls, festoons of electrical wiring hanging from the ceiling,  loos located in a portakabin in the car-park, and the ‘shop’ no longer existed.  There was dust and noise everywhere and the only clean thing was the sign apologising for the fact that there were no loos in the ‘departure lounge’.  I use the inverted commas because one would need an excellent imagination to call an overheated cupboard with 17 chairs and a broken vending machine a ‘lounge’.

On Saturday I went to the airport for the first time in ages and was very nearly pleasantly surprised.  The Check-in hall is looking good with a smart cafe and shop area, there are shiny new toilets (with lift access) downstairs, and the car park is now sheltered with solar panel roofing.   I have no idea whether the Departure lounge area is fully functional yet but it seems highly unlikely as passengers have to present their passports at a desk in the corner of the hall and then disappear into a building site.  The Arrivals area is still very much a ‘work in progress’ and you have to wait outside at the far right of the building (next to two portakabins which house Avis and Hertz).   Not pleasant on the few days it rains here, and it will be even worse in the blazing heat of summer…

I am sure it will be lovely when it is finished (hopefully in my lifetime) but so far they appear to have forgotten something very important – Passenger Information.  I was there to meet somebody off the Stanstead flight due at 3pm and it was only by word of mouth that I found out from other people waiting that it was delayed by 15 minutes. We went to watch it arrive but to our dismay it didn’t land but continued overhead, raised it’s landing gear and flew off towards the sea.  As the only information screen in the building was advertising a ‘coffee and croissant’ deal at the restaurant, we could only guess at whether it was too windy to land, or whether there was a sudden Air Traffic Control strike, or whether we would even see it again.


Eventually the plane arrived and we found out (from the passengers) that there had been an obstacle on the runway.  Seriously, Perpignan Airport Authorities, please could you find a few extra euros in your budget for an information desk – a nervous looking check-in lady muttering ‘5 minutes’ with her fingers crossed is not enough!

Tuesday 8 March 2016

Climb Every Mountain

Have you been to see the Leonardo di Caprio film The Revenant yet?  The long journey, the slow and painful steps through the snow, the step ascents causing the muscles to contract in pain, pushing the human body to its’ limit.   Apart from the scene with the bear, this pretty much sums up my experience on Saturday afternoon... 

This first picture is a view of the Pic de Neolous – the highest point of the Albères mountains.  It was taken in my garden on Saturday, in 16 degrees of sunshine, so it was intriguing to see the snow.  We decided that would be a good place to go for a walk.

To get there we took the ‘old’ road towards Spain (as opposed to the A9 motorway) and just as you get to Le Perthus, take the road on the left (D71).  This twists and turns and climbs for about 15 minutes and we began to see signs of snow in the verges.  We parked quite near the top where is actually a café/restaurant, which I think is called Le Chalet de l’Albère.  (But I wasn’t allowed to go in as we had brought a picnic…)

The walk started off quite gently (although I wasn’t the one carrying the picnic!) but it was bitterly cold as we strolled up the tarmac road through the forest.  The dog seemed less surprised than I was to see cows wandering about – but as long as she has a stick in her mouth, nothing bothers her.  As we left the trees and started up the exposed hillside the views were amazing.  There was a fallen fence of barbed wire, indicating the border, so having enjoyed the experience of having a foot in each country, we then walked up the Spanish side, from where you could see the sunlit sand of the beaches of the Costa Brava – Rosas, Empuria Brava, and Cadaques.

The snow was deep in places so it was pretty tough climbing but after several pauses we arrived at the top.  There is a huge satellite mast and what looks like a James Bond style nuclear power station there, but the main feature for ‘walkers’ is an obelisk surrounded by large stones (one of which marks the 1257metre summit). It was the perfect spot to set out our picnic (which, for the curious among you, consisted of a bottle of champagne, a sandwich, crisps, chocolate and an apple – my idea of a balanced diet)!  It was pointed out to me that there was perhaps no need to have packed two (heavy) plastic ice packs to keep the bottle chilled – but  I wasn’t taking any chances - who wants to drink warm champagne at the top of a mountain!  It was just as the first drink was poured that my partner realized that he had mislaid his jacket.  This was apparently my fault for not noticing earlier that it was no longer tied around his waist (I think it’s a French thing…)  So he set off down the mountain to track it down while I stayed to guard the picnic, the dog, and to enjoy the wonderful views – Spain behind me and France and the Roussillon plain in front of me.


By the time he returned (successfully thank goodness as the car keys were in his jacket pocket), it was getting a bit chilly and clouds were appearing (Neolous is the Catalan word for Nebulous) so we quickly finished the picnic and decided to head back down.   I have to say that getting down was considerably easier than the climb up, mainly because it involved a ranger’s truck as the dog had injured her foot and couldn’t walk.  Thank you Loulou!!!



Thursday 11 February 2016

Clearance Sale!

My washing machine broke down yesterday, but I wasn’t too concerned as I have two spare ones.  I’ll also be fine if the fridge packs in, if 9 guests need somewhere to sleep, if I want to host a dinner party for 20 people or if I have the urge to go skiing.  Allow me to explain….

A few weeks ago I sold a property and the owners asked me for advice on how best to clear out the furniture as they live in the UK and didn’t have any use for it.  Firstly I got the man from the ‘Troc’ round to have a look.  The ‘Troc’ is a large warehouse full of second-hand goods for sale on behalf of owners; there are several dotted around the region and they are fantastic places if you are looking for bargains and trying to furnish an empty property.  Unfortunately for my ‘owners’ while some of the suggested prices were very good, the Troc would take 50% sale commission, would charge to transport everything from the house to the depot and also wouldn’t take everything - so there would still be extra costs for taking the rest of the stuff to the tip and/or the charity shop.  The owners would have received a ridiculously small amount of cash for their furniture – so this got me thinking…..I suggested that I pay them a lump sum for the entire contents of their house, and that I would oversee the clearance of all the rubbish and unsaleable items, and also get the house cleaned ready for the sale date.

It is fair to say that on paper this had seemed like a good idea – the furniture was clean and modern and I had some clients who needed various items for their new villa, also I manage several rental properties that are always needing new items, and I have room in my house and garage to stock the ‘surplus’ and sell it at leisure.  In practice it was a different story.  The property was a village house but also had a separate apartment – so apart from the fact there were 5 bedrooms (9 beds, 7 bedside tables) there were also two kitchens (washing machines, fridges, microwaves, kitchen equipment) and two living rooms (Sofas, TVs, tables).  I also hadn’t thought too much about the contents of cupboards so there were several surprises – some good ones, such as Ski equipment, golf-clubs and a keyboard,  but also some bad ones such as out-of-date food and old tins of half-used paint. The final straw (or cherry on the cake) was the discovery of a huge quantity of garden furniture tucked away in the loft – solid teak that weighed a ton that needed removing through a tiny loft-trap on the 4th floor….. My partner and I were barely on speaking terms after all the trips it took to empty the house.


So far I think I have ‘broken even’ – but have lost the use of a spare bedroom and my garage, so if anybody needs 9 portable fans, a Play-station, two sledges, 4 sofas or a keyboard covered in Bart Simpson stickers, please give me a ring!