The surrealist artist Salvador Dalí claimed that the railway centre at Perpinyà (Perpignan in French) was the centre of the world and his statement is now commemorated in Catalan, the language of his native Catalunya which stretches across the Pyrenees, from one side of the Spanish-French border to the other.
This is where I’ve been for a couple of days, to meet friends and listen to music on one of the jeudis de Perpignan when the streets of the old town are filled with theatre, music and café tables. For Lo Jardinièr and me it was a long-delayed chance to explore this colourful Catalan town. Although I took no photos of food at all (my camera being too busy with street theatre and buildings most of the time) we did eat some excellent lunches.
In the bistro-style Casa Sansa we ate aumonières – paper thin pastry wrapped around goats’ cheese, baked with honey until the cheese was melting and then served on a bed of salad leaves, followed by three pieces of meat – pork, veal and steak – cooked quickly on a very hot plancha and served with frites. Dessert, of course, was crema catalana, the Catalan version of crème brulée. No wonder visitor say, in Catalan ‘Perpinya t’estimo’
or, since this is a bilingual country, ‘Perpignan je t’aime’, as the glass on the other side of the bar proclaimed. And the colours of Catalunya were everywhere, even reflected in the marble café tables.
And today, just before we went back to the ‘centre of the world’ to catch our train home, we had another delicious lunch in Le Divil – the 13€ menu du jour offered scallop terrine, ducks’ hearts grilled on a wood fire with deep fried cubes of potato dusted with paprika, and then gateau basque – a slice of delicious light creamy cake.
Over the weekend I’ll get back to posting dishes that we’ve cooked ourselves at home, but I wanted to record and share our Catalan experience.
olivesandartichokes 
Per mullar pa (good enough to dip bread in) 😉
Perpignan railway station and I are old friends – aside from visits to friends in Caudies, I even went to Perpignan for my 30th birthday, when I lived in Barcelona, a very long time ago.
Fantastic shots of what must have been a great time.. c
The Catalan colors reflected on the marble table top is a GREAT picture. I am gazing at it with great affection and appreciation. There’s a whole world in that picture, appropriate for the name of this post and the name Dali gave to the station. Why shouldn’t that station be the center of the world?
Would not have minded the ‘Le Divil’ experience one iota: am I misreading or misunderstanding 13 Euros for THAT? 🙂 !
Love the shot of the reflections in the bar. Beautifully seen, I’ve visited Perpignan a few times on our way to Collioure.
Sounds like you both enjoyed a wonderful weekend get-away. And I’ll add my voice to the choir, that shot of the reflected light on the bar is beautiful.