Perpignan Roadie

Even our holidays are affected by rugby. The Junior World Championships were taking place here in France during May and June so we drove over to Perpignan to catch up with some of our friends who are involved with the Junior All Blacks team. The team were actually staying in a smaller town down on the coast called St. Cyprien so that's where decided to base ourselves too. We got sorted out with a  small but decent AirBnB, packed the car and off we went. It was a good four-and-a-bit drive over to the Mediterranean from our house but after eight years in NZ (and five in the 'Naki!), we weren't daunted! God, how easy it all is when you can just get on the motorway, put the foot down and go at at least 130kmph all the way there!

William loves a picnic - who doesn't? - so we stopped off just past Toulouse at a typical French Aire for lunch and a much needed leg stretch. We kind of expected that at one point, we would need to break out some sort of screen to keep him from going mental but impressively, he was happy enough to just blether and watch what was happening around him. As long as he had his dummy!

We found our accommodation and headed out for a walk. What a pretty place! Little waterways with boat parks right outside the holiday homes and lovely restaurants dotted along the side of the different marinas. It was glorious. 

 

Then we struck gold. 

An actual beach bar, on the sand, serving sangria, WITH A CHILDREN'S PLAYPARK ONSITE! My face says it all. With everything we needed right here, we parked up here for the rest of the day and the kiwi guys came down to meet us for a few beers later on. It was great to see Dougie, Willie, Motsy and the rest of the guys. Lots to catch up on!

I also have to mention the great food we got here too. Amazing fresh seafood, and, of course, some cheese!

 

The kiwi guys sorted us out with tickets for the New Zealand v France match on the Tuesday night so we drove up to Perpignan for the game. William and I were there in full ABs gear - of course! It was cool to get to a match, even if William was too busy watching Hey Duggee on Iain's iPhone. It was also strange for me to go to a rugby game with Iain. I'm so used to it just being William and me. The home fans got the result they wanted and it was good to hear them in full voice. 

It was after 11pm when we got home on Tuesday night so you can imagine that it was a bit of a slow start for us on Wednesday. However, we were keen to get out and visit some of the more cultural aspects of this part of France so decided on a trip to the Palace of the Kings of Mallorca in Perpignan. 

By the end of our visit, William was absolutely exhausted. He might be almost three, but his Ergo is still proving its worth. It's also great for navigating the tiny cobbled streets with no pavements and tightly packed cars. 

Thursday was spent hanging around lovely Saint Cyprien. We had taken William's bike with us and we enjoyed a morning of walking and cycling along one of the many cycle paths in the area. He's really getting the hang of his balance bike now and is tackling bigger and longer hills with greater confidence.

For our last night, we went down to the port for dinner. It was a chance to dress up fancy, and eat lovely food by the Mediterranean. Wonderful.

On Friday, we trekked all the way back to Pau. It had been a busy trip away so the wee man was happy to get a kip on the way home. He's pretty good at this travelling-the-world malarkey.

LM :)