Cerbère
After the last couple of days of deluge and dark skies, this morning I awoke to a beautiful blue sky and sunshine. I didn't have any plan for the weekend so after a lazy breakfast I decided to look at the train timetable for the southern coast.
I decided to take the train to Cerbère, the last French town along the coast before Spain. It was once an important centre for exchange of goods between Spain & France and the rail line was considered an engineering feat at the time, weaving it's way around the rocky coast and cutting through it with numerous tunnels.
Cerbère still has it's ghosts form it's glory days when it was also a fashionable place to holiday in the 1920s and 30s. The Belvedere Hotel du Rayon Vert is a fine example. Only recently saved from complete ruin it is slowly being restored by one of the original owners descendants. This deco period hotel is wedged between the railway line on one side and the coast on the other. It must have been magnificent in its day, full of flappers and jazz men!
It could have been a Sunday for all the activity in the town. There were only two restaurants open and one of these was a pizza joint. I chose the bistro and ordered a simple lunch.
After lunch I took a brief wander around the town that mostly clings between the small beach and the elevated railway arches and then returned to the station to take the next available train back to Perpignan. It is just a little over 35 minutes for the trip between these two towns. I forget the train line is there and should use it more often. This same train goes all the way to Avignon as its northern destination.
