Day 45 - SkyLines from the French Lock-down: Market Day in Another Time

Salut nos amis! (Hi our Friends!) The holding pattern continues. We feel like time has stopped - except that we do spend hours online and have done a lot of organizing around the house. If there weren't meals to prepare and eat, it might truly feel like an endless wait. But, time does pass and we are working through these last two weeks and dreaming about life after Quarantine.

  

The bridges and the ford across the Massane

Day 45 - Wow - 45 days? Yes, it does feel like April has had that many days and then I

Market Day

remember that the lock-down began in March. This has been the longest April of my life but thankfully I have spent it with Y, my French partner. We have a wonderful life together - even when we are restricted to the house and the streets around it. Yes, we miss the travel, the windsurfing, the cafes and outings. Ski season was cut short. Most of all, we miss the market in our village! 

But, hey, we are alive. We are healthy. And if we've been exposed to the virus, then we haven't infected anyone else because we're at home. It's okay and we know how lucky we are. If I described Day 45, it would be dull. So... let's take another route and I will share this part of the world with you. There was a time when I lived alone and wrote my novels and blogs for Yahoo from a small village just a few kilometers from here. I'll set the WAY-BACK machine and we'll jump into that writer woman's past. I'd love for you to come along - be my friend in make-believe once again and I'll share the village of Argelès-sur-Mer that I loved just as much then as now. 

One Market Day a few years in the Past: 

It's a morning like most days for me in the south of France. I live on my own in a small Catalan village where I am known as "La Dame Américaine" (The American Lady.)  I woke up early

The little store in my village

and walked to the "Little Store," as I call the épicerie in my small village. I seated myself in the side room where Thierry, the proprietor, has set up a table, two tall chairs and installed an espresso machine. Here, between the magazines and fruit juice bottles, I chat with my neighbors and when I tell Thierry I plan to take my friend to market day in Argelès-sur-Mer. He smiles and gives me a wink. He says, "Ah la! Argelers de la Marenda, to use its Catalan name, is superb!  But, I do not think it will be time for the bathing suits just yet.”  I agree, knowing that when you get here, you and I will enjoy ourselves without going to the beach. The spring is beautiful here. I finish writing quickly so I can be "chez-moi" (at home) when you arrive.

 At last, you ring the door! Hurrah! I'll tell you where we off to - the long sandy beaches of Argelès-sur-Mer are only a part of why it's famous.  In summer it seems like the whole world comes here for a vacation. It is lively in every season and the twice-weekly street market fills the main

There are many festivals in Argelès

streets with color and commerce. February’s Mardi-Gras parade is always fabulous.  In March an agricultural fair takes place and there is also an "American Festival." I kid you not! The summer months welcome visitors with weekly celebrations and fireworks on the beach. In autumn, a procession of Giants honors the town saints followed by a an amazing demonstration of human fireworks that culminate in a bonfire.  September is also the month of the Catalan “Aplec” (gathering) to celebrate the grape harvest and any time of the year, you are likely to see “La Sardane” - the Catalan dance done in traditional costumes or everyday clothes. I could go on, but then we'd never get there. Today, it's market day. The car is out front – so let’s go!

 Argelès-sur-Mer is the town I stayed in when I first came to visit France. Restaurants,

Catalan Human Towers!

bakeries, street cafés and all the commodities there make it a great base for exploring the ‘Côte Vermeille’ (the Vermilion Coast). I think you will love it! Oh good, we’ve arrived. I hope you can help me find a parking spot! It's never easy on market day. Superb! You have good eyes. Yes, we can park here by the Mairie’s, you have found the last place - overlooked by others because it is a bit small. But in my Smart, it's easy. Yes, the Mairie's is the Mayor’s Office, a delightful building you will want to photograph.

We walk across the footbridge over “La Massane” a small watercourse that descends from the Albères and cuts through the town on its way to the sea. As we cross the bridge, you remark on the pretty set of stone-cut bridges for cars.  Then you realize that there is also a ford beneath

Human fireworks!

the first bridge when one car takes the low road and splashes across the sparkling stream.  The cry of seagulls reminds us how close we are to the Mediterranean.  Now we walk into the town and the road is busy with stalls and commerce for it’s market day.

The Rue de la République climbs gently until we reach the impressive church.  It's almost

Traditional Catalan Dress and Dance

impossible to get through the crowds at the moment, but look over to the left and voila! My favorite café, “Le Noisette” (the hazelnut). What do you think? Does the menu tempt you? It's a great place to have a simple inexpensive meal. Ah, yes, the daily special is a really good value for money. I agree, let's come back and eat here once we've enjoyed all of the market! Just a minute and I'll make us a reservation with Amandine, the proprietress, for lunch.

Lovely corner café!

     We have friends visiting later in the year and we’re recommending l’Hostelet right here on la rue de la République.  Turn around, yes, see it there, with the pretty wooden shutters of olive green?  It’s a classic guest-house with the ambiance of a ritzy hotel. Best of all, it is in the heart of the town. It is charming, intimate and exclusive for it has just five spacious well-appointed rooms - every one of them with a view, a gorgeous modern bathroom and classy décor. And, even better! They host a sidewalk cafe behind the hotel in the Place de République. It's called Côté Place. Lets' go and see if there is a free table. It's a popular place. Many say, the best coffee in town is served here. I love their espresso. We'll sit in the sunshine and enjoy watching the barter at the stalls that surround the plaza. 

Luckily, we find a place and that's not easy! So many friends love to meet up here. With coffee done, we take a long walk around the village. The stalls line the main street and curl on around

Friends meeting at the café on market day

the back street. It takes a while and eventually, we find that we've made a circle and are in the place de la république once more. The church bell rings the Mid-day bell and I am definitively ready to eat.

We wander back to the café and take our reserved seats on the sidewalk. It's lovely and warm in the sunshine next to the flower boxes outside.  On the church steps across from us, children are playing. We peruse the menu and make our choices.  Around us, many of the French are

Lovely Sign

eating a hearty lunch, of two or more courses.  For them this is the main meal of the day and dinner is simply a light “repas”.  We enjoy our lunch.  I definitely say yes to lemon sorbet for dessert and how can you resist that chocolate gateau?  Well, we could stay here all day, soaking up the sunshine and watching the world go by but I think you might like seeing the seaside part of town.

We pay Sandrine, our waitress, and wave goodbye to Amandine who calls out, "À bientôt!" (See you soon!) 

 How I wish we could say that would be the case. We can hope, can't we. You and I wandered back down the rue de la république and it's so quiet now! All the stalls have packed up and been carted away. The street cleaners have removed almost every sign that it was a Market day. The only thing left are the empty wooden or cardboard boxes from the produce

Dessert!

that are neatly stacked at a few locations waiting for the recycle truck to come by and remove them later.  The car is still in the shade, thank goodness! We get in, roll down the windows ait’s time to head home.   We turn inland and the mountain Canigou stands like a compass leading us back to my French village.  It’s been another lovely day with you, my friend,  thank you for spending the day with us and visiting Argelès-sur-mer!

There - that was fun! I enjoyed remembering my life in the days before the virus. And you know what? I believe we will have days like those again. It may never be exactly like it was, but I know we will find a way to control this epidemic. I hear you. It's hard to live with the uncertainty and stress of

The Place de la République sleeps - waiting for our return

not being able to plan the future. Right now, we are waiting out the storm. The future will arrive and in time, we will walk in the sunshine again. Courage! We will make it through this.

À demain, les amis! (Until tomorrow, friends!)
Link to Day 46