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It rained quite heavily for much of the night, but the clouds were breaking up this morning. After consulting the weather forecast, we waved G and A off on their day hike, and after we'd packed and tidied round, we went on the walk that I had wisely rejected yesterday. It was cool and cloudy, but we soon got warm as we hiked upstream above the fast-flowing river. It took us about an hour to get to the hamlet of Noarre. It's miles from the nearest road, but surprisingly many of the substantial farm buildings have been immaculately renovated for use as holiday homes. See extra for a general view, featuring S. It's a pity the light was so poor as it's in a very attractive situation. After the civil war it served as a base for the maquis, being suitably remote with the further advantage of being close to the French border.

We walked back to the borda, said goodbye to Angels, and set off home. We decided to vary the pleasure by returning via Perpignan instead of Toulouse. This involved the famous N260 -- we once spent a holiday travelling the length of this road from the Basque country to Catalonia. It runs along the Pyrenees, climbing from each valley over high passes and plunging down into the next one. It's quite spectacular, but hard work to drive.

We'd thought of lunching in Puigcerda, but by the time we got to La Seu d'Urgell, we were tired and hungry, so we stopped there instead. We picked a smart restaurant on the main drag that we failed to try last time we were there. It was an excellent choice; the lunch menu, at 17 euros, was amazing value. S got off quite lightly; he ordered a filo pastry tart and then hake for his main course. After my plate of spaghetti with courgettes, walnuts, an lemon zest, I went for the pork glazed with rosemary honey. I expected weedy slices of pork loin; I got a massive slab of roast pork on the bone. Even with my appetite enhanced by our walk I could only manage half of it -- S had the rest. For dessert I should have picked the delicate raspberry mousse S had, not the banana bread, bizarrely served as a sandwich filled with whipped cream, drizzled with honey, and with a scoop of ice cream on top. I couldn't finish that either. Still, it was all delicious, and we enjoyed sitting in the shady courtyard, eating at our leisure. "It's good being retired, isn't it?" said S.

We stopped at Mercadona for the obligatory Spanish shopping and then continued on our way. I knew it was a roundabout route, but I was still quite shocked at how long it took. La Seu to Puigcerda is reasonably straightforward, but then there's the loooong, steep and winding descent from Font Romeu to Villefranche de Conflent, which is a busy and challenging road as well. We didn't get home till nearly 8 pm, having left Bordes de Graus at 12. We'll go back to the Toulouse option next time. The only downside of Bordes de Graus is how inaccessible it is. Otherwise, it's a lovely holiday spot, at least if you like eating, drinking, and walking.