November 8, 2010
Ceret to Estagel
WEATHER: CLOUDY, THEN SUNNY, THEN CLOUDY WITH A SPRINKLE
Al felt better in the morning, but still not up to eating much at all. A bit of bread and tea at the sparse continental breakfast at the hotel was all he could manage. We hoped he would be able to cycle the whole way to Estagel.
After leaving Ceret on busy roads we took the small frontage road that we hadn't taken the day before back toward Le Boulou. At Le Boulou we went on a different busy road for 2 km and then branched off to the right on a small road that took us uphill into Banyuls-des-Aspres. Unfortunately we had to ride 250 feet up through the village and then down again. This was irritating for Al, who had way less energy than usual. A gratuitous hill was most unwelcome. Then mostly level roads through a number of small villages. The skies cleared and by the time we reached Thuir for lunch, it was sunny. We had lunch at a cute little glassed in brasserie near the square which filled up completely while we were there. Al could only manage a plain omelet and juice, while Eva went for the local specialty, pommes savoyard (potatoes, crème fraiche, lardons, cheese). Yikes! It was delicious, but what a cholesterol bomb.
Leaving Thuir we encountered a new traffic circle, which caused us to unwittingly miss our proper turnoff. After about 5 km of what turned out to be a very nice ride, we ended up in Le Soler and realized that we had to backtrack a few km to reach the correct road. We started climbing up towards the Col de la Dona and it got cloudier and cloudier, then sprinkled a bit. After stopping for a photo at the (rather low) col, we wended our way downhill into Estagel--a much more scenic approach to the village than the way we had come into town a week ago.
Since we knew where the chambre d'hote was (Demeure Saint Vincent) we went directly there and knocked on the door. Eva had neglected to email Daniel and Michele recently, and they were not absolutely sure that we were coming. They were in the middle of painting an upstairs room, but welcomed us warmly to their most impressive mansion, showed us to our cozy room, up a grand staircase from the main floor, and then served us tea and cookies in the kitchen. Because it was so late in the season, we were the only guests.
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Daniel, a French Canadian (who speaks excellent English) and Michele are restoring this stone mansion (6000 square feet on three floors), doing most of the work themselves, and it is clearly a remarkable labour of love. They gave us a tour, and we were very impressed with the four other ensuite rooms that are finished, all individually decorated. One of them has an old-fashioned zinc bathtub and another has an African theme, reflecting Daniel's travels and work. The grounds are essentially a park with two huge centuries-old plane trees and lots of greenery. There is a lovely terrace where breakfast is served in the summer.
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Dinner that night was at Hotel Plein Sud (where we had eaten lunch the week before), pretty much the only choice in Estagel. Very strange atmosphere. We were the only real patrons, the cook and waiter were sitting with a group of noisy friends and they didn't seem professional. They were even smoking inside the restaurant. We had tomato and egg salad, lamb chops and a ratatouille. In the summer, Michele and Daniel offer dinner at the B&B, which would be a far better option.
Today's ride: 62 km (39 miles)
Total: 925 km (574 miles)
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