In Perpignan

October 22, 2024

Fortunately yesterday’s excellent adventure didn’t set my injured knee back and if anything it’s somewhat better this morning. Still, I plan on an easy day that won’t stress the situation. We’re having lunch at an Italian restaurant about a mile from our hotel today, so I decide to bike there and meet Rachael who will walk.

The view west toward the eastern end of the Pyrenees from our apartment this morning.

And the view to the northwest. I think that’s Mont Canigou behind those clouds, the highest peak in the western Pyrenees.

As I bike I’m reminded of what a poor first impression Perpignan made when we arrived yesterday. The main story of the day was the train fiasco of course, so I didn’t think to mention what must be the worst bike infrastructure concept I’ve seen anywhere. Perpignan has marked a number of city streets in the historic center as bike lanes, even though they are one lane, narrow, have a solid row of parked cars on both sides, and are one way - in the opposite direction from the bike markings.

I didn’t stop to take a photo, but it’s easy enough to visualize biking along the right margin of the street watching the mirrors so you don’t get doored and then having a stream of oncoming cars approach that force you to squeeze against the parked cars and hold your breath. I don’t know what the thinking is, but I guess there’s some comfort in the idea that you probably won’t get a citation for biking the wrong way down a one-way street as you’re being rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.

Rachael has been waiting at the restaurant for a few minutes when I arrive, because I got slowed down by a detour around a road maintenance project. I lock my bike up and we step into a small slot cafe of maybe eight tables. The server comes around promptly to welcome us and take our order, and then comes back several times just to chat. He’s Sicilian, from Palermo, so there’s that to talk about since we’ve been to Palermo a few times ourselves now. Also, once he’s learned where we’re from he probes to ask what we think of Donald Trump. We give him an honest answer, and once he learns we’re of the same mind for the next five minutes we share our hopes and fears about the upcoming election.

Rats. I asked this big-hearted guy his name but I’ve forgotten it in the meantime.

Rachael’s ready for a break from taking walks I’ve drawn out for her that look good on paper but don’t work well in practice, so she tried coming up with one on her own this time. Her goal was to stitch together a walk along a canal to an aquaduct, stop at an appliance store to pick up a better battery charger for her phone, and then continue south for a look at Fort Serrat.

Let’s be generous and just say it didn’t go exactly how she planned it. She didn’t walk along the canal at all, and she couldn’t see any walkable way to get up to the fort. Not so easy, Rocky, huh?

She did get some nice shots of the aquaduct and picked up the charger she was looking for though.

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My plan was for a thoroughly lazy six or seven mile loop concentrated mostly in the historical center of town, partly to have a look and partly to test out how my knees do with cycling since we’re moving on tomorrow. I did that, but then I also added a few miles biking out and back on the bike path that runs east along the Tet River. My feelings for Perpignan improved greatly after exploring the attractive and interesting historical center, and I was impressed by the quality of the Tet bike path. If we ever come back to this city though I still intend to avoid those single lane, one way bike route/death traps.

I’ve seen this described as a pomegranate, but to me it looks more like a red onion. It’s one of a cluster of modern performing arts venues, collectively known as the Archipelago. I wish I’d known at the time that there are others hidden behind this because they look worth seeing also.

No idea what the concept is here. Interesting though.

The Tet River, which originates in the Pyrenees. Not to be confused with the nearby Ter and Tech Rivers, which also originate in the Pyrenees. I’m sure there’s a very good reason why they all have such similar names.

This is one of the margins of Bir-Hakeem, a very large park near the center. The plane trees that border it were planted around 1810, along the line of ramparts of what I presume was once a fort or the city walls.

The plane trees scattered around the interior were planted about fifty years later.

There are several different memorials in the park honoring casualties and victims of rhe various modern wars. The park was renamed in 1946 to honor those lost in the battle of Bin-Hakeim in the Libyan Desert.

This seems like an important time to remember the horrors man is capable of. when I was younger this all seemed so unimaginable, something that could never happen here.

The La Loge de Mer, built in the 14th century, was once the site of the city’s stock exchange but now houses the tourist office. Note the ship protruding from the roofline.

One of Aristide Maillol’s voluptuous sculptures, one of several variations on a theme posing about town.

I really like this fountain. It reminds me of one in Portland’s Old Town.

The Castillet, once the main gate of the walled city during the Aragonese era.

Another view of the Castillet, with the channelized Basse flowing beneath.

Today's ride: 10 miles (16 km)
Total: 4,362 miles (7,020 km)

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Jacquie GaudetThe only thing I remember about Perpignan from our French tour in 1992 is that we didn’t like the place; my paper journal is around somewhere but I can’t remember if it ends before that day. We rode to Perpignan from Collioure to catch the train to Paris and had some time to kill. We weren’t sad to leave and I’m afraid your account isn’t making me think about giving it a second chance.
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3 weeks ago

Scott AndersonTo Jacquie GaudetI’m sure it’s much better now than back then, like most cities in France. There really are some decent routes into and out of the city that I’m sure wouldn’t have existed then. If I wasn’t there for the train though I doubt we’d go back either.
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3 weeks ago