approaching queribus...tadah! I couldn't believe I finally made it! I got lost a couple of times on the road near perpignan. the drive here was very pretty though and not many other cars. it was nice to get away from the crowds at the beach. 

view to perpignan from queribus 

geesh, another sideways picture, but this is a vaulted room in queribus.the next photo is taken from the window at the end of the room. it was dark and windy, windy, howling wind. 

view from queribus,this is in the room in preceding photo 

eeek! this road was barely big enough for the hyundai...gorge near peyreptuse (sp?) 

driving through the gorge 

Coquelicot, on Mother's Day, on the way to Queribus. 

this is a photo of a painting of the Palace of the Majorcan Kings in Perpignan, France. It was built in the 1200s and is pretty fascinating. It has been under seige and Perpignan had a reputation of being fiercely loyal to Spain. They were nicknamed the rat eaters for about 100 years after the seige. Perpignan was one of the capitals, but when it became part of France it lost some of its importance. They were well known for their colorful cloth. This is the place that can see the "5 brothers" or 5 castles/chateaux which were warning, signal and fall back places, all perched precariously in the mtns. I visited Queribus...windy, windy...but impressive and spectaluar. On my hike I went to a tower (la massane) whose flame could be seen here in Perpignan, quite a long distance. 

grand, front entrance.... 

more of the palais des roies de majorca 

inside the courtyard 

fountain in the palace for the kings of majorca in perpignan 

Uh, I hiked from the white chateau to the little tower, that you can't see.... 

my beach....no tourists! 

foot! @ beach! last day! sunny! 

I ended up here looking for the shoe "factory." It's a nice walk from town. I just kept on going and going and going. There's a stream on the other side of the cows. The cows had bells around their necks, quite perfect : )  

I bought my espadrilles in this town at the factory. They are made from cloth woven here too. I picked up some remants. Mom, I think you need to get a place here!!! St. Laurent something that starts with a C. Very near Prats de Mollo. 

: ) part of the church arching over the stone street below and attaching itself to a newer bldg...Prats de Mollo...look it up on the map! Southern France, next to Spain, in the mountains. It is beautiful around here. Clear granite streams. 

ack, another sideways one! so, this says something mystic in latin and dates from 1612. It's part of the church and faces down onto a shady lawn and the valley below. 

I climbed all around in this ancient church. Actually it's only from 1612 or something, so it's relatively new. 

nature taking over the church 

Prats de Mollo - I want to stay here one day. This hotel looks down on the town place, where nothing happens! 

Prats de Mollo (very near Spain in the Pyrennes). This is the French door, facing east. A very cute, sleepy little town. 

A romanesque church at the end of the hike, dating from the middle ages. I liked the plants growing out of it. You can see how warm it was this day. 

This my friends, is a dolmen. From the nicene age,I think 35k years ago? They were burial sites. There are two on this hike. the stones weigh a couple of tons each and they're perched on the edge. It must have taken a lot of people to make these.