A few weeks ago the kids had a long weekend and we decided to take a much needed family vacation for three nights. Usually we hop on a plane and visit another country, but we are nearing the end of our long renovation project and neither one of us was ready to deal with much travel or travel expense. I had heard about a wonderful place in the French Pyrenees from a friend of mine, so I was thrilled when they had room for us.
La Taillede is an old Catalan farmhouse that has been lovingly restored by the owners. The house has been beautifully designed into several different holiday accommodations. We were fortunate enough to stay in the Gite Canigou, which has a private hot tub and more space than we could have ever needed.
We did not want to travel far, so La Taillede was perfect as it is only about 1.5 hours away from Girona. We reached the town of Corsavy, France and then turned on this teeny dirt road. You know you are headed somewhere fantastic when traveling on a dirt road:
And at the end of the dirt road...another world.
I mean, does this photo not make you want to wear long skirts and carry water from some ancient source? Is that just me?
The views from the farmhouse were nothing short of superb:
The kids wasted no time and began enjoying what may be the most beautiful trampoline view of all time:
This gate led to our private front door. Pure bliss. Our phones did not work and wifi was by request, so we did not request it.
Our front door and private terrace. I basically sat here for nearly four days and read and slept in the sun. I can't imagine anything better.
Sunrise from the kitchen window:
We arrived on Thursday afternoon and spent the afternoon just wandering around the property. The kids loved checking on the goats, chickens, sheep, donkeys, etc. Being on a farm is such a fun experience for kids.
On Friday morning we packed lunch and our hiking gear and drove through beautiful autumn foliage to a nearby mountain. Our plan was to hike about 10km, but it included several long climbs so I carried the hiking pack in the event Aurelia needed assistance.
T
he day could not have been more perfect for a long hike.
As you can see, this was not an easy hike! We are slowly trying longer and more difficult hikes and so far the kids are loving the adventure.
We hiked for a couple of hours and then took a break for lunch. We were on top of the mountain gazing down at the world and it was an incredible spot. I was so proud of Aurelia (she did it all solo) and Eston for completing the hike without complaint. I love that they are enjoying hiking so much as it is such a great family activity.
And after a long hike...a long hot tub!
Saturday was another gorgeous sunrise. We slept so well at La Taillede. Rory and I averaged 10 hours a night and we felt so refreshed waking up every morning.
We went down to the village of Ceret on Saturday morning. Ceret is a gorgeous little French village with a fantastic art museum. This area also produces most of the cherries for Spain and France. I have wanted to go to their market for ages, so it was fun to wander around town and check everything out. I was over the moon when I found pomegranates! My favorite thing in the world and I am planning a return to buy more. Aurelia is my little cheese monger and she was in heaven at the market. We bought a few things to bring home to enjoy.
We left the market after filling our basket with some gorgeous fruit and cheeses. We then headed to the Gorges de la Fou. This site has been on my "must do" list since we moved to Girona, but we just never made it happen. I am actually glad we didn't because the kids are now at the perfect age to enjoy this outing! The walk was only 5.5km, so it felt quite short compared to our hike.
Walking through the gorge was incredible. It was a warm day and we we entered the gorge the temperature dropped quite a bit and the rock formations were just amazing. Highly recommended if you are in the area!
We spent Saturday evening wandering around the farm and just enjoying the beautiful surroundings. What a peaceful place.
We drove back to Girona on Sunday morning and all of us felt truly relaxed and renewed. Usually we leave vacation feeling a bit worn out, but we were able to really rest and explore on this trip without worrying about work and school and such.
Of course, now we are back to real life! Rory went to his first training camp for the new team, we celebrated Halloween and we are mere weeks from moving to our new house.
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