Letsgoloolala with
Lily Anne
Finding My Feet
After a brief walk into the centre of Perpignan, Béa and I visited The Post Office, the bus company office for Sankéo, the Conservatoire, Benecorps, a school of dance, Galeries Lafayette, Les Halles Vauban, the tourist office and Torcatis bookstore. If collecting registered post (poste récommendée) you don’t need a ticket to queue. The bus company offer various options such as a one month ticket, a three month ticket or 30 trips at a reduced rate. I learned that Les P’tits Bus offer free transport around the city centre! The Conservatoire ( Montserrat Caballé) has a notice board with clear images and details of impending events and the guy at the desk took the time to give info on buses to the event locations. The school of dance (Benecorps) offers my kind of dancing, LindyHop and others. Les Galeries Lafayette has several floors of shopping and a rooftop café with a wonderful view of the city stretching as far as the Pyrenees. From this level I can arrive, plug in my laptop, say hello to friends at home while enjoying the view. It even includes a view of the small hotel recommended by a friend, Hôtel de France.
Les Halles Vauban houses a market full of colour and fresh food by day and I’m told that there is live music there at night where food, coffee and alcohol are served. You don’t have to order a meal to enjoy the entertainment. In the tourist office Perpignan https://perpignantourisme.com a young girl gave me as much information as I needed with leaflets to take home.
The most significant of these was the AVF leaflet, (Accueil des villes Françaises ), a service for new arrivals, which will enable me to connect with other newcomers to the city who want to socialise together. The visit to the bookstore Torcatis included an assurance from the proprietor that she would read my bilingual short stories English/French with a view to making a deal. We finished with a coffee at Place de La Loge, a good spot to people watch.
Travel tips
Be safe in Perpignan
The streets are reputedly safe but accidents can happen unexpectedly sometimes in the least likely places
(Had to ditch my full length silk pyjama bottoms as my toe tangoed with the hem and sent me tumbling in my new bedroom on to a tiled floor. Glad I bought those shorties in my local Dunnes stores.)
Travel light (I never do!)
Carry details re next of kin (as in name and phone number)
Bring alternative version of your i.d. and emergency tel. numbers in case of loss
Check security lock when making transactions via internet
Consider Hotspot tethering
Hi Lily Anne . Your travel adventures in Perpignan are a real delight to read in these restrictive times. Took me back to a lovely few days I spent there with my daughter last July. Only now realise how carefree & relaxed we were. J’espère que vous rentrez à Perpignan à l’avenir et visiter le charmant village Collioure , pas loin de Perpignan .
À bientôt
Bonjour Mary et merci. Je t’invite revoir le site Samedi quand la pièce numéro 7 au sujet de Collioure sera presentée. Les samedi je vais poster trois pièces de nouveau. Enfin arrêt prochain Valencia. Espagne. Hi Mary -thank-you! Do visit the site again on Saturday when clip number 7 willl be posted re Collioure. Each Saturday I will post up 3 more clips about Perpignan. Then next stop Valencia.