Ceret - peaceful Sunday

We decided not to drive anywhere today after a couple of experiences with the increased traffic on the weekends so it was a leisurely morning spent reading the Saturday Telegraph (doesn't get here until Sunday, when we can also buy the Sunday Telegraph ??)
I went out in search of a short cut to the river, believing that there has to be a footpath.

Occasionally there is a house with more ornate balconies, carved or molded plasterwork
around the windows and carved balcony supports. They also tend to have initials carved in
the stone over the front door. I'm guessing these would be the initials of the person who
had the house built. The house number is usually a blue tile (like this)  whatever the class of the house.

I noticed another poster at the bottom of the street, beside the roundabout.

The stream shown in the painting is now a cement encased gutter but the houses that back
onto it still have little patios and gardens at the edge of it.

I walked through a residential area and then found an overgrown sign pointing to Chemin des moulins which I took to mean a path to the mills and figured the mills were probably in the river.

Devil's Bridge through the trees. The path followed a small stream down to the river and
to the spot we sketched the bridges from.

My walks don't always result in picturesque locations. I found the water treatment plant today. I didn't bother taking a picture. Square cement building, big blue pipes, sewage ponds. It looked pretty new, there was no odour and there was a flock of seagulls floating on the ponds.
After lunch we drove up past the Terrace de Soliel Hotel and I was able to take the car up onto a track I have walked on. Dad and Joan read in the car with a nice view of Canigou and vineyards while Mum and I walked a way and then sketched Canigou.

The track we were on faces south and some of the trees are in blossom.

Mum sketching Canigou.

Canigou was challenging to sketch in a totally different way than the 3 bridges yesterday.
Then the difficulties were in angles and perspective. This time is was the challenge of the medium
we were using. Difficult to get across the patches of snow, rock vs trees, shadows from the
brilliant sun and the gradual lightening of the hills that were farther away in just black on white.

For everyone living where it is still cold and snowy, this is just around the corner!