Wander & Nest

We moved down the coast towards Spain for the second part of our winter holiday trip. We stayed in a very cute town on the water called Collioure. Many people told us about how pretty and charming Collioure is, “it’s like Disneyland.” The Disneyland part threw us a bit not knowing which part of Disneyland to apply to a French village. A friend explained that the French say something is like Disneyland when it’s very touristy or not authentic, and yes that totally applies to Collioure. Stunning views, picturesque old city with little streets of shops and restaurants, beautifully decorated, super clean, spectacular pink sunsets, but also meh food, huge menus in every language, tourist shops open on Sunday… so yes, Disneyland.

The Christmas market in Collioure was small but mighty with live entertainment for kids and adults, branded vin chaud cups, an incredible view of the sea and light show installation, and situated next to a playground and carousel. It was perfect!

We took a day trip about 40 minutes inland from Collioure to the town of Céret. Céret is very close to Spain and in the Catalan region of France, which has its own unique culture, language, food, etc. Just this quick little day trip reinforced how varied and diverse France really is, there is just so much to explore! Céret also has a well know farmers market (marché) in the center of town that runs two days each week, so we planned our visit to hit one of those days. The market did not disappoint! It was lively, festive, and had a really great diversity of food and goods.

After the market and a Catalan lunch, we made a stop at the cute and tiny Christmas market, which was basically just a collection of attractions for kids that were all free. Plus a stand with vin chaud… obviously. Mara jumped in the bounce house/jolly jump/moon bounce (there’s a big controversy in the Ahmed-Leon household over what those are called), rode the tiny Santa’s sleigh ride, met some lion king characters, and even got an Olaf airbrush tattoo. Wylie got to take some time to walk around the old city while I hung out with Mara, it was great! We ended the day with a stop at an old bridge for some lovely views.

Our last day in Collioure was a Sunday so since most things would be closed we decided to enjoy the outdoors and go for a little hike. We made a stop at the Collioure marché, which turned out to be mostly the same vendors as Céret, for some picnic snacks and headed up to start the hike. Mara was not in the best mood to start so we didn’t know how it was going to go, but she was a champ and it turned out better than either of us could have hoped! After the hike Mara promptly passed out and we walked around the old city and visited shops, which turned out to be open on Sunday (because Disneyland). Then we walked along the water and took in the beautiful views.

We spent our last night in Collioure at Christmas market and then hung out in our airbnb where Mara played with her Christmas gift doctor set. We made the 2-hour drive back to Toulouse the next day. We stopped for lunch in Narbonne and couldn’t skip the Christmas market with all the rides, so Mara got a second go at the trampoline ride. What a way to end winter holidays!