As we find ourselves in the midst of another round of property negotiations, I am reminded how much fun it is not buying a house. We had many hours and days of joy not buying a house in France. Continue reading Not buying a house in France
Tag Archives: Quillan
For a moment there earlier this week I could have sworn I was back in France. I had a rare week day to myself, without any of the boys, and had decided I would go shopping. I mainly intended to wander and window shop, but I had two shops I particularly wanted to visit. One because I wanted to shop for a birthday present while the boy was away. The second because it’s a shop that you can’t possibly take a buggy into. Imagine my surprise when I found them both shut – on a Monday! Continue reading Part-time living
A week ago we finished our three-month-long stint in France. Leaving Quillan felt like a significant ending. I left with questions that cannot yet be answered with certainty. Will we ever return to Quillan? Years from now will we carry regrets about what we did or did not do while we had the chance? Will our children thank us or curse us for it?
In the summer the town of Quillan really comes alive, with an influx of tourists and a programme of events and activities sponsored by the local commercants around the Place de la Republique.
One of the regular features is a night market – ‘sous la lune’, which takes place outside our windows from 6pm-midnight every Thursday evening in July and August.
After two hot days in Barcelona we woke on Monday morning to rain and thunder. The rain continued for the duration of our drive home, north through Figueres, across the border to Perpignan, and west to Quillan. The storm was apparently very widespread. We heard a rumour that Madrid had hail. After arriving home in Quillan we learned from friends that the storm was severe in the Aude region, including large hail stones in places.
There are excellent walks in this area. With a baby in tow, we’ve not even skimmed the surface of what we might otherwise have done, but have managed a few short walks, in part thanks to the excellent series of walking maps you can buy, covering every small town and its ‘pays’.
Our neighbour kindly passed on a spare copy of the walking map for Quillan and surroundings, and at the weekend we managed a short distance of a 3-hour loop walk into the hills from Serres. Continue reading A short walk in the hills
Another good swimming spot, suggested by my local acquaintance, is the lake at Arques, just 25 minutes’ drive from Quillan.
Today there was a fishing tournament in la Place de la Republique, which just happens to be right outside our apartment window.
Continue reading Fishing tournament in la Place de la Republique
The annual Fete de la Musique takes place on 21 June, with celebrations of various kinds all over France. My first memory of the Fete de la Musique was in Lyon in 1990, I think. We were lucky enough to accompany musicians playing on barges on the river, after which we joined the general music and mayhem in the narrow streets of Vieux Lyon. There were so many people and such little room to move. I felt physically ill from claustrophobia. It was crazy, but a night to remember.
The celebrations in Quillan are ever so slightly smaller, though they still rock the place. As I write the windows are shaking and the floor is vibrating with the beat. It’s the most people I’ve yet seen in the square, though the numbers will swell further in July and August in full tourist season.
