Collioure, France

The charming village of Collioure was maybe my favorite place of our entire trip. It was so beautiful and serene; it's easy to see why so many artists were inspired there. Just south of Saint Cyprien (15 miles from the border of Spain), it was a quick drive through a couple of quaint towns to get there.

We went in the evening, and the sun was creating a golden glow on everything as it set behind the historic stone Château Royal. The energy was strong and clear; the gorgeous colors would inspire anyone to pick up a paintbrush and try to recreate it, for fear it was a one-time show generated by special conditions which would never again be repeated by nature.

(This was one of the few places where Niki let me take her photo on this trip.)

I had to be torn away from the landscape so we could find a place for dinner. France seems to have pretty strict serving hours, and even though it was only sunset, it was about 10:00 p.m. already. We chose a place right on the water called St. Elme. During our meal, we watched a local procession of people, led by a small band, carrying candles and French flags and parading around towards the chateau.

After dinner, we had ice-cream treats and walked along the sand. Niki and Guy were too tempted by the shore of small rocks, and they started to skip stones on the water. Joey tried too, but most of his attempts consisted of him throwing lots of stones at once to make lots of splashes. Niki and I got up to 3 skips each, while Guy, the expert, made it to 8 or so.

Someday I would really love to return to Colliure for a longer stay - several days - to explore the shops and local art and just soak up the great energy of this wonderful place.