Bronson Walkabout: Prades: De tour en France

It’s the unexpected detours that make a trip special. Since we were coming to France in August, the time when everyone goes on holiday, our Francophile friends warned us to book our places in advance. We dutifully followed their good advice and created a route that would take us from San Sebastian to Paris in four weeks. Later when I told my French friend Isabelle about our itinerary she responded “You are nuts to go to Lourdes in July, it will be a madhouse”. Duly noted.

Then, in our first few weeks in Spain, in Delta de l’Ebre, we met David and Simone, a British couple living in France’s Roussillon region, in the town of Prades, near the Mediterranean Sea and the Spanish border. “One can’t travel around the world without seeing Prades.” said David, and the laid out the invitation to visit. Since they were free during the time we had planned to be in Lourdes and detoured to visit them. This meant driving the length of southern France, from San Sebastian, along the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean coast and then east again into the lee of the mountains. And we were so very glad we did. Not only are David and Simone incredibly generous, funny and interesting hosts, they live in a very rich area of France.

Prades is the home of the Festival Pablo Casals, started by cellist Pablo Casals. We arrived the day before the opening concert. David got us tickets and we were lucky enough to see the most amazing performance of chamber music in the Abbey Saint Michel de Cuxa, under the shadow of the sacred Mount Canigou. The church was consecrated in 974 and enlarged in 1100’s. The cloisters were dismantled during the revolution and then half were brought to the New York Metropolitan Museum in 1925 and rebuilt there. The other half was rebuilt at the abbey. So we experienced remarkable music in a sublime setting, creating an unforgettable evening.

We left Prades on a rainy morning and drove through Cathar country, through the town of Maury (we live on Vashon-Maury Island) and across some beautiful Napa/Sonoma type country. After a lovely lunch in Limoux, we drove through Toulouse where Airbus is located (our Seattle/Boeing rival) and are now up on the Lot-Garronne Valley, in the Aquataine region. It is an area of rolling hills, Bastide towns along the Lot & Garronne rivers which flow down from the Mastif Central. We are here for a week and look forward to unpacking and relaxing amidst the tranquility of the French countryside.