Fred's is Tops

Dinner last night at Atelier de Fred. It was superb, and checking it out afterwards on TripAdvisor showed 5/5 for 40 of the 41 ratings, so other people think so too. No surprise as the welcome was great, the service friendly and helpful, and the food excellent. Several cuts above anything else we have tried in Céret. It's tricky picking a good place to eat, as they do change, and there are so many. At the moment the pick has got to be Fred's. These desserts were superb...

Two days ago we went up on Le Petit Train Jaune. We picked a day that looked less likely to thunderstorm in the afternoon, and got it right. Into Perpignan on the 1€ bus, out to Villefranche-de-Conflent on the 1€ train, then into the queue for the Petit Train. It paid to get the tickets in Perpignan so we were up front in the queue to get the pick of seats. We chose not to be in the open car on the way up, but directly behind it where there is an outside platform. Quite a different trip to last time, as the meadows heading up to our stop Font-Romeu were in full bloom and really attractive.

The train times have changed a little (I think) so we only had enough time at the top for a stretch before jumping back on for the return. We thought we'd try the outside car, which was fun but very hot. We had plenty of time to wander round Villefranche, have lunch and later have a coffee and a bit of a read in the main square. Most pleasant. By the time we got back home we were all pretty tired - with all the various travel legs it is quite a day - 7am to 10pm.

Another outing today Thursday - up the valley to Arles-sur-Tech. It's an attractive and clearly very old town. Very different to Céret in that it seems a lot older and less touristy, but unfortunately the main road cuts through it and detracts a lot from it. We loved the cloisters of the Abbaye Saint Marie, and lunch at Les Caves Mouragues was excellent. We are better off in Céret, as there is so much on, and we are half an hour closer to the coast and Perpignan.

I suspect it has been our hottest day yet with 35.9 outside as I write this at 6pm! We have managed to keep the apartment comfortable by keeping an eye on the inside and outside temperatures and closing and opening the windows to suit. Sorry NZ readers, but I am forced to include this...

Some frustrating news on the comms front. We were booked to have our phone line sorted on Wednesday, but got a call early in the morning saying sorry, because of the thunderstorms our appointment had been delayed a week. I managed to get it moved forward Monday, so a small win, and a good test of my French skills. Talking on the phone is so much more difficult than face-to-face. We have also suffered 2 days of feeble internet, and I have been forced to use my phone for connection, but a reboot of next door's box has improved things again. It will be SSSOOOO good when we get our own fast connection.

We are very pleased with the way our French is coming along. We have reached the point where we have conversations with locals, rather than just do prices and orders. Karen can understand most conversations and is getting very good on written French. Having the confidence to actually talk about things means we hear and use far more French, which makes us better at speaking and understanding, which means we talk more...