We spent most of today on the road. Up to an early (slow) morning jog – as usual Russ was up first and me hard to rouse. We went across the small park to the river (he before me). It was hot even at 8.15 am. The river bed was visible as it was so hot and water had evaporated. I ran for just 25 minutes. Breakfast in a local café and a second viewing of the flea market we had noticed earlier in the park was fun.
We left at 10.37. We had decided to chance the cross country N roads rather than drive many miles further on the motorway via Narbonne and Toulouse. This turned out to be an exciting and varied route – 130km to Foix, negotiating an excruciatingly narrow gorge at one point, then many interesting villages advertising degustations and various bike and running events. We stopped for lunch at an Aire soon after Foix. There was an amusing range of seating options available, including large limestone slabs where, as you can see above, Russ ‘le Roi’ reclined in splendour.
We arrived at Argeles at about 5pm and the cloud was down. The temperature had dropped considerably since the departure from Perpignan – 27 degrees compared to 20 in Argeles. The Miramont was an impressive hotel in a great setting – next to the Thermal Park (see flowers above). Our hostess was the perfect host, showing us the room personally and sharing conversation. We ate in the award winning hotel restaurant. I went for the 20 euro petit menu but Russ had to try the more expensive one. A good meal but rather stuffy and pretentious (though the wines almost made up for it!)
Room (with balcony) three stars. Bed comfortable three stars. Nice shower but again only waist height so only two stars.
We left at 10.37. We had decided to chance the cross country N roads rather than drive many miles further on the motorway via Narbonne and Toulouse. This turned out to be an exciting and varied route – 130km to Foix, negotiating an excruciatingly narrow gorge at one point, then many interesting villages advertising degustations and various bike and running events. We stopped for lunch at an Aire soon after Foix. There was an amusing range of seating options available, including large limestone slabs where, as you can see above, Russ ‘le Roi’ reclined in splendour.
We arrived at Argeles at about 5pm and the cloud was down. The temperature had dropped considerably since the departure from Perpignan – 27 degrees compared to 20 in Argeles. The Miramont was an impressive hotel in a great setting – next to the Thermal Park (see flowers above). Our hostess was the perfect host, showing us the room personally and sharing conversation. We ate in the award winning hotel restaurant. I went for the 20 euro petit menu but Russ had to try the more expensive one. A good meal but rather stuffy and pretentious (though the wines almost made up for it!)
Room (with balcony) three stars. Bed comfortable three stars. Nice shower but again only waist height so only two stars.
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