Girona

Most people land at Girona airport and rush up the motorway to get to La Paloma. Unless you are on a very short trip we would recommend that your take the time to explore the city of Girona.

The old town around the cathedral can only be described as elegant. Fabulous medieval architecture, stylish shops and great restaurants.

You can see here for more details. http://www.girona.cat/turisme/eng/activitats.php

One of our favourite restaurants is:

Cafe Le Bistrot
Pujada Sant Domènec 417004 Girona, Spain972 218 803

A great low cost place to stay in the centre of the old city is:

Pensió Viladomat
Ciutadans n 517004 Girona, Spain972 203 176pensioviladomat.com

Festival of Saint Narcis

Last week of October - an important week for Girona.

The trade fair is organised at this time. A funfair is installed in the Devesa park and in the Copa space there are free musical concerts every night.

On 1st November the whole of the Barri Vell, the old town, is turned into a great fair The Trobada de gegants, meeting of the giants, giant papier mache figures, is held on the last Sunday.

Christmas At La Paloma

You won't be using the pool in December – but we have often had breakfast and lunch on the terraces around the house over the Christmas period.

Food iis mportant to us so the house has a well equipped kitchen with seating for at least 8 people and a large dining room for serious feasts.

Some of us like to do a day trip to ski at Les Angles which is about two hours away.

Others like the coast and you can be at the beach at Collioure in about 40 mins.

Hotel Empuries - Spain

One of the great things about the location of La Paloma is it's proximity to Spain.

Within half an hour you can be across the frontier and enjoying a different cultural experience.

One of our favourite destinations is the Hotel Empuries on the coast near L'Escala and less than an hour from La Paloma.

The hotel is in a tranquil bay near the ancient ruins of Empuries.

The hotel is the epitome of shabby chic. Simply decorated with tilled floors, scrubbed wooden furniture, comfy sofas with white linen covers and it's own small library.

The jewel in the crown at Hotel Empuries is the restaurant. Whilst not as experimental as it's better known neighbour, El Bulli, a few miles up the cost towards France, the restaurant at Hotel Empuries has never failed to delight us or the friends we have taken there.



The beach in front of the hotel is small and secluded and a great place for sleeping off a long lunch.

Out of season there is a fire in the hotel lounge making a perfect location for lazy afternoons reading and watching the sun go down across the bay.

The GR10 Footpath

The famous GR10 footpath passes through Arels sur Tech past the front of La Paloma before climbing out of the village up the mountain in front of the house.

The GR 10 is a French GR footpath or hiking trail that makes it possible to walk from one end of the Pyrenees Mountains to the other. It roughly parallels the French-Spanish border, sticking to the French side. Those attempting the entire trail often choose do it west-to-east, from Hendaye on the Atlantic Ocean to Banyuls-sur-Mer on the Mediterranean Sea, but it can just as easily be traversed east-to-west.

The stunning views from the path above Arles sur Tech can be reached in a couple of hours from La Paloma.

Easter At La Paloma

The Procession of the Sanch - Good Friday

The Abbey of Arles-sur-Tech is the see of the venerable Brotherhood of the Sanch, founded in 1416 by Saint Vincent Ferrer.











Every Good Friday The Black Penitents organise a night procession through the streets of the village carrying artifacts from the Abbey representing scenes from the Passion of the Christ.











Many of the villagers create shrines in their windows in front of which the lead figure stops, rings a hand bell and chants a blessing.










This spectacular event is watched by hundreds of visitors who fill the streets of Arles sur Tech. Old hands ensure they have booked at table at the Hotel Glycine for a late dinner after the procession.

For full detials of this and other events see Festivities in Arles sur Tech.

Bains de Saint Thomas

One of the special features of this area of France is the proliferation of Spas and Springs.

One of our favourites is Bains de Saint Thomas. This is in the Tet Valley on the N116 road to the ski resorts around Mont Louis.

One of our joys is to drive to the Bains de Saint Thomas after a day skiing and soak in the warm outdoor pools with fresh snow lying on the mountains around us. Another spa close to the ski resorts are at Les Bains de Llo. It is worth leaving the ski resorts an hour or so early to avoid the rush at both of these resorts.

Les Bains de Llo



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La Paloma is in the medieval village of Arles sur Tech in the Pyrenees Oriental in Languedoc in south West France.

In 1956 Mousier Boix, a local chiropractor, chose this site with spectacular views of the Pyrenees and close to the village to build a villa to live in and a separate suite of rooms to run his practice from.

When we bought the villa in 2003 we converted the practice rooms into extra living accommodation, installed a swimming pool and created extra terraces. La Paloma now offers sleeping accommodation for up to 12 people and is available to rent for family French villa holidays.

Amphitryon Restaurant

Rue Jean Bart 1
66190 Collioure
Tel: +33 4 68823600

The Amphitryon is one of our favourite seafood restaurants in Collioure. With stunning views across the harbour to the famous Collioure church this is a perfect place for a leisurely lunch or dinner.

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Goat Fair At Arles

We managed to time our April 2007 trip to coincide with the annual goat Fair in Arles.

Always a spectacle, this event is dedicated to all things goat.

Pretty much anything you can think of doing with a goat or it's bye products is demonstrated here.

Great fun to watch - until you see the odd one geting poped into a sack and disappearing around the corner over the shoulder of a large Frenchman...!

Where is La Paloma

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Finding La Paloma from the UK is easy.

* Go to France.

* Go South ‘till you get to the Mediterranean

* Turn right and keep going until just before you run out of France.

* Turn right up the last valley before Spain

* La Paloma is in Arles sur Tech, 10 miles up the valley, on the right.

First Post

In 2003 we bought La Paloma in South West France.

Our plan was to try to spend time living there and some time in our house in the UK moving backwards and forwards and continuing to run Thinking Corner, our training business, from wherever we are by email and telephone.

This is working - almost.

We knew from the start that to make this work we would need to generate some income from La Paloma. The fact that La Paloma had a separate apartment and was in a great location convinced us to buy it.

As we enter our forth year of ownership we are reflecting on what we have achieved, what has gone well and the joys and challenges La Paloma has brought us.

This blog is intended to share some of these stories with those of you who have, and will in the future, spend time at La Paloma, either as our guests, or in your own right as rental clients.


Thanks for being part of the La Paloma story.

John & Gina Biggs
Owners
La Paloma