Les Pyrénées-Orientales – Les 100 lieux qu’il faut voir – Documentaire Voyage Complet – MG

Les Pyrénées-Orientales – Les 100 lieux qu’il faut voir – Documentaire Voyage Complet – MG

[Music] you like France you like to
travel it discover it go to meet it you sometimes even have the impression of
knowing it well we all have a small beach a small cove a clearing a hamlet or
a path that belongs only to us far from the beaten track and that we only want to share
with those we love it is this France that we want to make you discover through
100 places that you absolutely must see in your life [Music] today we take you to the south of France
in the eastern Pyrenees pieces of Catalonia lost between sea and mountains this trip will
make us discover the rocky coast where the Pyrenees plunge into the Mediterranean and in particular
Coliour wonder of the coast only a few kilometers from there we will attack
the mythical summit of the region the Montigou and in the neighboring Valleys we
will visit the military sites and the fortified towns hidden in the hollow of
the mountains like free city of Conflan or Prat de Moyolap Prest witness
the eventful history of the Pyrénées Orientales as many discoveries that
we will share colorful characters proud of their
Catalan identity fishermen musicians craftsmen all madly in love with their country of its
majestic nature and its traditions [Music] in the extreme south of France
we begin our journey by Coliour a small village full of charm hidden at the bottom
of a cove where Péréné and the Mediterranean meet its unforgettable panorama and its
exceptional sunshine earned it to be chosen as a summer residence by the greatest
kings from the dukes of Mayor to the Bourbon later the most
illustrious painters of fauvism set their sights on this Catalan port to give
free rein to their imagination [Music] colorful it is Jean-Paul who will be
our guide to discover Coliour this child of the country gave us an appointment in
his vineyards on the heights of the village I I was born in this small Catalan port which is colored
60 years ago I have never left it in turn fisherman lemonade seller and even driver of the little
tourist train here Jean-Paul has practiced all the possible trades and knows his village
like no one else [Music] we are truly a privileged place you just have to look at colu we see
the sea our big blue we turn we see the mountain with its peaks it is tours it is a
dream it is a second paradise maybe even the first there are of course 1000 ways to visit
Coliour for you Jean-Paul chose the most original it is Anne Carer his friend who had the idea hello hello how are you so are you
ready to show us around this painter’s colure quite the light is
exceptional today I think we have a fabulous time to go and discover
Matis and Rein well well we all follow eh let’s go let’s go Matis and Rein are
among the most emblematic painters of Fauvism born here in 1905 for them Coliour
was a life-size painting and thanks to Anne you will see that it is still as
true several reproductions of famous paintings have been placed all over the village
these are the ones which will serve as a common thread for our visit Mathis says to Koyour I look at the landscape
I fill myself with this sensation I close my eyes I transcribe my emotion then Matis arrives in
Cyour in mid-May 1905 he leaves at the beginning of September tomorrow arrives at the end of June at the beginning of July he leaves at the end of
August you see a few weeks only and in a few weeks we have about 100 works for
each it is phenomenal fantastic so suddenly we created a Fauvism trail in Colure but
quite 19 reproductions on the walls but look at one of these famous paintings yes
it is a canvas by André on canvas by André de Rein and we see precisely we find the
houses the roofs of these houses entitled Coliour the village and the sea this canvas
is one of the first of Fauvism it was directly inspired by this small street and
its pile of houses which overlooks the Mediterranean we have a complementary tone report you see
uh yellow orange blue green uh highlighting the contrast and radiating the tones
also in the painting we feel that it is very sunny eh we feel that it is exactly
Jean-Paul it is the sunshine in fact which prevails the tones are mounted and the color is
there to speak to us and to give us a feeling these multicolored alleys are a bit like
Jean-Paul’s Madeleine de Prou ​​all these little colored alleys it is all my
childhood it is memories we ran we played hide and seek in them we knew
the smallest corners they have not changed they have not changed the same perfume the
same colors it makes part of the soul of this village I believe that it is magnificent plago
bouginvilier it is sublime then it has a fantastic perfume a corner of paradise a little corner
of paradise or little corner of paradise [Music] walking in the footsteps of the painters
you will soon go along the port and the castle before emerging on the small square which
overlooks the splendid beach of Coliour the most wild painting for you then
for me the most wild canvas of the summer of 1905 it is the red beach we have it right there
on the eyes yes in particular because we see this color ratio quite unusual
for the summer of 1905 employment Matis and this pink side by side and that is fabulous it is really false
it is extraordinary we are there we are there yeah another source of inspiration for all the artists
who set up their easel in Coliour the bell tower of Notre-Dame des Anges symbol of the village it
is the only one in the world to be surrounded by water On three [Music] sides opposite the church
is the imposing royal castle whose enormous ramparts once ensured the protection of
fishermen and villagers. The size of the building recalls the strategic importance of Coliour and
to evoke this military past Jean-Paul called on one of the castle guides Jean-Michel.
Push well then there Jean-Michel we arrive on the terrace of the royal castle on the terrace
of the castle a superb view of the sea on the bay on Colour finally it is a place that I love it is
magnificent a view that has hardly changed for a century nestled in a
natural setting and protected by the sea and the mountain Coliour has preserved its heritage witness to
its history the tower of Madeloc the tower of Guardia which became the force Sainthelme and the
tower of Massan which is further away there were there were on the Pyrenees mountain range that in
our department a hundred towers how and Spain which is completely behind there
and the gay towers which made fire smoke and yes when we were invaded they
each lit a fire in turn and the chain ran from Barcelona to Carcassonne yeah
to warn of invaders but this border still changed often
well yes we were constantly we were attacked we were taken we were besieged we were liberated
well it was when you are on a border on one side there were the French on the other there
were the Spanish and until what time I believe the Treaty of the Pyrenees well the Treaty of
the Pyrenees of 1659 we are attached to France again occupied by the Spanish for
2 years during the riots of the French Revolution Coliour was definitively retaken
by General du Gomier in 1793 [Music] according to Jean-Paul we should not
reduce Coliour to its image of postcard as beautiful as it is that’s why our guide
now wants us to discover another monument of local heritage located a little away from the
city center in a building that doesn’t look like much trust him don’t miss it because
this building is the temple of the enchoie small silver fish that made the fortune of the village
since the Middle Ages the rock family is one of the last two that still works the precious
fish here we have been reproducing the same gestures for more than 5 centuries hello it’s okay let’s go up let’s
go to the workshop which I follow you little advice from Jean-Paul when you come here
ask to see the workshop just above the shop you will discover all the stages of
salting hello ladies hello so Gu you have a choice brother yes a little bit there go but
show us the preparation ah yes that’s a beautiful choice how are you it’s magnificent magnificent
it reminds me with 14 years that I did it Michael Rock embodies the 5th generation of
this family of salting artisans. It was Guy, his grandfather, who taught him the trade.
Salt is very important at the start, right? And why do we put salt in so that the fish
keeps very well, keeps better, yeah, and then it’s good, then it’s going to make
its own juice, its own blood, it’s going to make its own juice, its own juice in the salt. After a night spent
in the salt, the fish arrive in the expert hands of Marie, the grandmother, the specialist
in this floor. Come on, come on, Marie, show us a bit of all that. Don’t lose the idea, right? We take off our
heads, the voices, and before, when we did it, Marie, do you remember, we always said,
do the band there, but do the B, that means you can talk while working, but don’t
stop with your hands, there you go, you have to move your hands, always move your hands. I can’t do one to
try, if I remember correctly, Jean-Paul did this job every summer when he was a teenager,
he wants to absolutely see if he hasn’t forgotten everything you see there yeah or you see again Marie I
could come and give you a blow tomorrow in the summer and well listen eh you keep the heads for
fishing and yes because it is used to bait the fish to make it come the day before the broumch
lech there the enchois will then macerate in its cans for 3 months it is there that the flesh will
take on all its flavor after washing the filleting and drying between two blotting papers they are
finally skinned if you want to taste them Catalan style just plan a little toasted
and chopped bread a hard-boiled egg and some marinated peppers z-me that that is good delicious after all
this trip they end up in the right place [Music] once satiated do not leave Coliour
without following the coast towards [Music] Spain it is there they say that the vermilion coast is the
most beautiful and the most [Music] wild we are in the abôille only about ten kilometers
from Coliour a beach with clear waters bordered by maritime bread and cork chains
the site is protected for its rare fauna and its preserved underwater depths like everyone
here our guide knows that the best way to discover this bay is to walk there in a kayak
besides Jean-Paul is one of the few to have never tested this means of transport yet very
fun so to prove to us that this walk is unmissable and safe he decided to
jump into the water with Jérôme Chastan a champion of the discipline hello Jérôme Jean-Paul hello
you are going to monur of the day yeah very good very good I am going to try this new sport yeah we are
going to put the boat in the water that’s it the ideal is that it is completely submerged yes that’s it we are going to move
forward a little bit so as not to be too much in the waves okay that’s it so you wedge your
boat with your knees look try to make it move a little like that Jérôme is a
nature outing guide in sea kayaking a boat known to be particularly stable and easy to handle even
if for Jean-Paul the beginnings are a little [Music] hesitant there you go stay straight in the boat there you go you give the little strokes
of the paddle it moves forward all by itself oh it’s great oh you’re going on the water eh ahis it’s the boats that have glide I don’t know how to turn around but we must
already be quite far down the beach yeah yeah [Music] very quickly the efforts
of our apprentice end up paying off in less than 20 minutes the two
friends have already covered more than 3 km oh là là là it reminds me of the
military training in the army in 72 we left it’s a lake it becomes an
ocean and yes yes well there it is I’ve mastered it so now we’re going to reach the end of the 4Bard yes
it’s a strategic place here because it’s the place that is the most advanced here there
on the Vermilion coast yeah I see so the passage of the cape is difficult here as soon as there
is wind the passage is difficult if Jean-Paul goes to so much trouble it is to convince you to
do like him in order to admire the sumptuous decor of the bay of Paul admit that it would be a real
shame to miss such a view of the rocky coast in fact in the distance what we see
over there is the Caprè over there at the end at the point at the point over there where you have there yeah just
a little before you have Cape Serber which is the border between France and Spain we are
not obliged to go there no no and in case of temporary fatigue like Jean-Paul you can count
on the help of Jérôme so there it’s a treat it’s fantastic you will even have
strong sensations my god what speed but don’t forget all the same that a
kayak turns over fortunately the Mediterranean is warm in high season and no worries for Jean-Paul as a good
Catalan he never gives up [Music] determined to show us other wonders of his region it is not a
pebble lemon that will make him give up the highway which leads to Spain will
take you directly to the intriguing fortress of Sals another
essential stage of your excursion deeply buried in the ground to better
hide from the enemy protected by powerful walls 12 m thick rare specimen
of the military architecture of the end of the Middle Ages the military forts are to the
eastern Pyrenees what the bafroids are to the north of France monuments inseparable from the history
of the country that is why you must absolutely visit the fortress of Sals if possible in the
early morning when the light is the most beautiful always eager to reveal to us little little-
known treasures of this Catalonia Kilamitan Jean-Paul recommends that you then head
towards the stretches located below the [Music] fort you will then enter a wild
and authentic universe which does not appear in any tourist guide it is for this reason
that our host absolutely wanted to take us here because at the edge of the invisible being in the
middle of the reeds hides one of the last baracasses the
traditional hut of Catalan fishermen to get there no sign do as our guide simply head
towards the body of water then ask for Jojo’s hut jeanbernard hello hello Jean-Paul how are
you how are you thank you for welcoming us in this paradisia game I beg you it is a pleasure
for me too we are going to see my father’s hut come on I follow you hello hello hello
how are you it is slowly so we are in front of the famous rose cave eh
exactly it is uh my great grandfather who fished on the edge of he was doing the
anguis needed a relay to put the nets and so on to serve as a backup
so they built a reed hut a habitat many times threatened with
destruction that the caboles fathers and sons maintain and protect with passion to renovate it he also harvests the Sanis these wild reeds which constitute
the raw material of the hut [Music] it’s still work eh it’s
a pleasure you have to take it as a pleasure because afterwards when you see the
result the hut which covers everything we are proud we are proud so here is one
more fogo come on let’s bring it back the hut we are going to attach from there to there at the end yes there we are so
we are going to start to cover the hut I’m going to show you a little the technique
to cover the whole thing the reeds are then fixed on a frame
of Provence cane which serves as support I’m going to show you the principle again so I
lift my cagnos and I slide underneath the reeds, a little, that’s why you
need bundles that aren’t too thick, okay, and the operation of the
needle is repeated gradually and gradually we spread them out like that, dad, you
pass the needle, eh, I pass it, go there, be careful, eh, yes, go on, so my father
passes me the needle from the inside on which he stuck a wire, okay, so I remove it,
I remove the needle and I pass it back over it and there it is, it’s inside
and we repeat the operation every 40 cm, so there you only put one layer, ah
yes, yes, we only put one layer that we add every 3 years on the old
layer and it’s really waterproof, ah it’s waterproof, there’s no more waterproof,
all that resists everything, eh, and it’s the same system since from generation to
generation, I arrived at the summer It’s fantastic if you ask him nicely Jojo
might let you into his cabin inside you’d almost think
time had stopped in the 50s there’s even a lamparau an old
oil lamp which allows you to fish for eel at night the origin of these huts dates back to the
Middle Ages they can be found all along the coast as far as Spain but very few of
them are still inhabited and many are falling into ruin the Cabroles is
therefore an exception that you should not miss but the treasures of the Pyrénées
Orientales are not confined to its coastline well sheltered by the mountains it’s another
green and majestic Catalonia which awaits you the next stage of this journey
takes us to the Conflanc valley dominated by an eagle’s nest classified as
a UNESCO World Heritage Site perched on a rock which dominates the beautiful village
of Villefranche de Conflanc Fort Liberia is the smallest of the stone and
marble sentinels built by your benches the smallest but above all the most impressive all in
height with a breathtaking view of the Canigo if you only have to visit one
no hesitation it is this one that you must see character renowned for his gaiety and his love of the country it is Joël who will be
our guide in Conflanc always ready to show off his valley
this great chatterbox before the Eternal never misses an opportunity to invent the merits to the visitors
very often tourists imagine that it is difficult to live in a village cashed
in the middle of these mountains me on the other hand it is the opposite I have trouble imagining living elsewhere
it is really my village my grandparents were hoteliers here the other grandparents
were republican refugees I am a pure Catalan product and finally these tourists
there they end up falling member of this village too but not more than us because we
really would change near the world volunteer firefighter Joël runs a bar in the center of
Villefranche where passing tourists and local figure of Catalonia meet here thank you and the
ticket gives you the right to a reduction to visit the castle if you come back one day
with family or what it is Joël’s family who takes care of visiting Fort Liberia
so go up there on foot or by car he will be happy to welcome you there that morning
our host takes Fred Torres there a pastry chef friend faithful to his reputation as an
inexhaustible guide Joël cannot help but highlight the specificities of this mini fortress
that Vauban wanted to be ecological before its time since he imposed to build it only with the
materials of the valley you see the cairou there yeah the Cirou is the brick for the Catalans as there is
the brick in Toulouse it is a soft material which allowed precisely to absorb the
projectiles the enemy shots or the ricochets and therefore not to injure a soldier ok exactly
like the railing the wrought iron railing of the canigou uh this railing which looks 350 years
later not even a peak of rust with a stainless iron and in case of recoil with the musket it
also prevents a soldier from falling on a round yeah [Music] yeah the marble is beautiful in fact here
you have the peach blossom the pink of Villefranche which we almost have an appellation the blood red
gillotte of Flaça and it is true that the peach blossom reminds me a little of an éine de
F gratin a little bit in the gastronomy at the top of the fort the view is breathtaking
with Spain at the bottom of the valley there have already been attacks on this fort finally
not so much but following the French revolution the strategic disagreements of the
revolutionary goats the artistic blur that was to reign in France with a bluff the Spanish
positioned themselves on the mountain there ambouillas so the cannonballs they asked
to come down like that and so there was a bombardment in good form there was some
damage and it was almost with a bluff that the French took back the place so you see for
the anecdote fortunately at the time the steeple there did not exist but in terms of artillery it is
still not bad to try to time your shot you see aimed or there you go yeah it is cute it said with
seen surigo always the countless walks around the fort seduce you as much as the
visit itself the decor at the foot of the foothills is superb and if you are greedy you can have
fun like Fred picking wild herbs to make good little dishes
you look at the complexion it is fragrant yeah here that for make a little chocolate ganache with a
little apricot fruit paste you know how in the middle of summer when it’s when it’s really the
season the little brand yeah and the little sprig a little dried on top to decorate you see that
makes something nice what and there what do we have with these few herbs Fred promised to prepare
chocolates and macaroons with a 100% Catalan flavor but we will have to wait a little longer
to taste them because in the immediate future Joël wants to show us another Catalan specialty
so we follow him to Prade a few kilometers from Villefranche de Conflanc among the many
Catalan traditions there is one that is precious to us it is the making of jewelry
with grenas the Catalan grenard and there are some of these artisans who perpetuate this
know-how they are they are they are perched hello hi Joël see you at work
jean-michel Calvet is a Joer craftsman but be careful a Catalan Joellier and proud to be one
too exceptionally thanks to Joël you will be able to take a look in his back
shop where he makes and renames grenadant you have an example there of jewelry so old this one
so it is a cross a Catalan cross a Vadina cross there we all necessarily remember having seen
our grandmothers in our villages especially on Sunday at the end of mass wearing I
called the Catalan castafures wearing always the traditional cross more or less of
this format and we could add that it is for very big occasions here is the knot of badine
which came above it made it still long and which was connected therefore to the cross with small
chains with a pretty neckline we brought Yeah there so yes there are some who also say that the
cross which is articulated so it was to face therefore the neckline which was more or less
important Jean-Michel always uses the same ancestral technique for making his jewelry
at home you won’t find the slightest machine the stones are cut by hand before being made
from a gold band made to measure always by hand of course a method that our jeweler
defends tooth and nail once a year Jean-Michel organizes a kind of
special pilgrimage with some friends Joellliers their objective to prove that the real Catalan pomegranate
can be made anywhere this year they have chosen to demonstrate it at the summit of
Mount Canigou the sacred mountain of the Catalans [Music] you think that will have arrived ah
I’m sure of it yeah it’s really a great idea their thing clear they chose the
day in addition lady Tramon has settled yeah a little sun at the moment but it’s a little
overcast eh I don’t know if we will really have good weather at the peak this time Joël and his
pastry chef friend Fred will be part of this curious expedition of the very respected brotherhood of
the Catalan Grena hello hello our two friends slipped a little
culinary surprise into their bag before leaving but to deserve it the group must climb
to the summit at 2784 m altitude and if you talk non-stop you can’t breathe
either and it’s Joë who says it what a hike of 3 to 4 hours of walking
reputed to be among the most beautiful in the country which have the enormous advantage of being accessible to all one condition leave early
in the morning after having checked the weather ah well that’s not Grena let’s see
there indeed that the color is red but there I have trouble finding them there
maybe no a little bit of very small micro crystals yeah micro crystals but you
can do something with that no no no no no value no at the level of jewelry
no but at the level of collectors well it can be interesting but so on the massif
where we are we can we can find some there it was the stroke of luck to find them but
on the barbed going back down to add an eye we will surely find some yeah there
well seen well seen but we in any case we kept coming to Canou but we never
had this geological approach the massif of Canigou hides in its subsoil the deposits of
iron and silica which constitute the grenard so be attentive with a little
luck you will perhaps also find fine stones during your
walk I had to wait 44 years to have a so-called joillère approach
to Canigou jo until now it is not the myths and the legends the tales
and other stories which were missing at the level of Candigou the lever you have me you
make me have a semi-precious approach in winter the peak of Canigou is obviously
snow-covered but its ascent is safe from May to September it is a
mythical summit for the Catalans of France as well as Spain on both sides
of the border it’s a pilgrimage that you have to have accomplished at least
once in your life pom pom pom [Music]
[Music] ah you see it’s earned the same things barely
arrived at the summit the jewelers get to work they improvise a jewelry workshop
above the clouds and so there we are going to take out the pomegranate so here now the stone it’s there so
we went around it yesterday we mounted the jewel and I’m going to place it in the châon
gently if it wants so there it is there it is in place and now so with a tool that we
call a chandarme so we are going to take it out we even put a peg on the orientation table
and so it’s not the one on the workbench but it’s going very well and gently so we are going to fold down
the gold little by little and there I have reflections you do it on purpose to put its reflections like that it’s sure
that it’s quite a art eh but above all we prove that we can do it anywhere that we have
kept this quality of manual manufacturing and the precision of the gesture and the quality of the jewel as
must end then it is very symbolic yeah well all we have to do is make
Canigou labels that would be good eh for our hiking jewelers it is the moment or never to taste
the little surprises of Fred [Music] so after the effort the comfort with the herbs that
I picked and that we welcomed together with Joël on Monday so these macarons I made them
with a herb that we find at Canou so we picked with Joël also little chocolate
with the lavender that we picked also the decoration it is lavender color there thank you go on
help yourselves they are beautiful they are super bou there is not only the color that the shape there is really
the taste there all the scientists know at altitude the flavors are more intense like these
thint and wild lavender macarons then also take some good local products with you
you will feast your taste buds and eyes but you will not be at the end of your
journey because it is in the magnificent neighboring valley of Valespire to the south of Canigou
that your third stage in Catalan land awaits you welcome to Prat de Moyolap
Prest ancient medieval capital of textiles today a little away from the
main tourist routes however as you will see the small town has preserved from
its splendor of yesterday an astonishing heritage and traditions still [Music] intact it is
Didier who will be our ambassador in Valpire this passionate about traditional music
will reveal to us the secrets of his region the one he crisscrosses all
year with his type the Ha bois [Music] Catalan because Didier loves to
retire in the mountains in order to repeat his favorite pieces his
then resonates throughout the [Music] valley according to him it is from the top of
Fort La Garde that we can appreciate all the splendor of the Valpire valley the building is
located just above the village of Pradz de Moyo but this panorama is worth it you have to walk a
good 20 minutes and climb several stairs to reach the esplanade where
Christeln the guide who will accompany him for the visit is waiting for you it is a meeting he
you have already climbed to the top of the tower no I never saw it from below yeah of course
it is striking it is striking by its history also it is the tower of the Guardia
the Guardia it gave the guard so the name of the fort at the top of which we are and it is
an old signal tower and it is only from the end of the 17th century that we began
to build the Fort La Garde all around which means that for nearly 4 centuries
the tower was all alone above Prcebl exactly above the city which already had
walls from the medieval period okay going back down you will pass in front of the barracks of the officers and soldiers who
stayed in the fort until 1920 this path will take you straight to
the entrance of a unique underground passage so now we will go back down towards Prace de
Moyo and we will take an original route which is a military retreat route which allowed
the soldiers who were stationed in the city to quickly climb towards the fort in the event of an
attack while protecting themselves of course while ensuring the defense of the city and the fort
the guard of course we go there oh there it’s dark huh ah well it’s the principle of an underground passage which is
dug into the rock and which has 142 steps before arriving so at the other part which we
call the covered way like Christelle and Didier do not hesitate to engage
in this long tunnel loopholes have been made in the vault to let a
little light through [Music] that always impresses me ah you couldn’t have been a soldier in the
19th century no I don’t think so no no no war time cross the covered way to
go on the attack this underground passage opens inside a first belt of rampart
come on we arrive at the church it just blows you away but you still have to go through a heavy
door before entering the village so there you see you have the
gate guardhouse and opposite look it’s interesting there are traces of 19th century soldiers with
graffiti the soldiers the soldiers the soldiers were here they were stationed here as the
time must have been very long waiting for the enemy well they engraved their name the name of their
regiment the date et cetera the fiancé maybe also maybe maybe the church of Sainte Juste
and Rufine is a few only tens of meters from the exit of the underground passage a building
that will surprise you with its immensity in the middle of such a village and whose facade is said to be the origin of
many legends in the valley have you ever had the opportunity to discover the church of
Sainte Justi Ruchine I know the church but not perfectly not in detail so we
actually discover a 17th century building built on medieval foundations originally a chapel
okay uh towards the end of the 10th and rebuilt in the 13th century when the city took on a
larger dimension and what is that that intrigues you that ah yeah that is a
bit of a mysterious element in relation to the building so there are many stories about it we do
n’t really have an answer I’ll tell you right away they tell it’s a mammoth rib that was
discovered on the forecourt of the church when the church was rebuilt in the 17th century then the
version that is most often told is that of a sailor who is from Pratz and who is
saved from the waters by a whaler and who in an ex photo recovers a whale rib and installs it here
the most credible is still that it was a sea fisherman no who brought that back so it
remains mysterious but we are sure in any case it is from the 19th century and that it is a whale rib
or a cachalo that is enough that is enough [Music] inside the church you will discover
exceptional baroque furniture which still testifies today to the past wealth of the
draper craftsmen of Pratz de Moy Wou it is surprising eh then it is surprising on
two counts firstly by the imposing dimensions of the building which are of course due to the
economic and demographic prosperity of the city then it is surprising by the importance of the
baroque furniture there are 11 altarpieces in this This building is one of the most
interesting churches and also testifies to the importance of the Baroque in the Pyrenees.
There is a main building dedicated to Saint Justus and Rupine, who are the
patron saints of the town. There are different breasts, of course, associated with them, and
part of their history is told, including the miracle of the wine that was attributed to them and which took
place locally. Out of season, the church is closed, but if you ask
the tourist office, they will kindly open the door for you. As you leave the monument, lose yourself in
the staircase-like streets of the heart of the village. Their atmosphere will take you back to the
glory days of Pratz de Moyo. These are the small streets of Pratz, exactly, that’s what we
call the costes, so who are these large steps made of
river pebbles and which were especially conducive to the passage of mules since all the
transport of raw materials and products from Funis were made thanks to the multiers which
of course transported iron and wood but also sheets and all the products which made the
wealth of the town of Prce de Moy today still the traces of the former
economic power of the city are visible everywhere hello George but unlike many
Catalan villages very popular with tourists Pratz de Moyo has managed to preserve a certain authenticity which will
charm you but beyond this picturesque setting Didier is very keen to show us that the
Valespire is not just a museum he wants us to meet Catalans who fight
daily to perpetuate traditions and revitalize the region according to him it is in his
native village in Saint-Laurent de Serdan that you will find the best examples of this
Catalan energy two of his friends Cécile Villa and Céline Albert have managed to bring
the most famous shoe in the country up to date come with me I will take you to two friends
there Cécile and Céline who revived the espadrille industry you’ll see come on hi it’s okay
babe well we see this factory we don’t see it come on come on let’s go to your on this side of the
Pyrenees we’re not talking about espadrilles but about bigatan after having shod all the Catalans
for centuries it almost disappeared in the 80s we can say that you saved the
bigatane that’s how we can say a little bit yes if you want you make how many we
make 15000 pairs per year and how are these bigatans made well listen look there we have the
different parts that make up the bigatane so there is what we call the first the
uppers the upper or the upper here we say upper but we can also say upper there you go eh
it’s the same word and then behind the heel and so to assemble the bigatane we
need the wooden last which corresponds to the size okay and so the first step
is to staple the first one with the wooden shape okay you want to try go let’s go let’s
go Cécile and Céline are very proud of their success so ask them to see the workshop they
will be happy to show you around hey Didjier there you have to put in fact two staples
to hold the first one with the wooden shape go ahead I’ll let you do it I should be able to do it
I should be able to do it it’s pretty perfect here the espadilles are made entirely by
hand one by one using a method that dates back to the 19th century you see that’s the specificity
of our manufacturing it’s the petit point sewing but it’s only us who do that the
Catalans the Basques they do they don’t sew like that no the Basquis have a completely different
way of sewing espadrilles in fact here we have this double stitching so the first
needle sews the rope braid laterally and the second needle it sews inside
so this white thread that we see passing is more solid it is more Of course yes yes this double
stitching it ensures more solidity to our shoe and in fact it is especially really that is
typical of Catalan manufacturing and well listen to the last part in fact
we are going to remove the clasps to remove the bigatane from the wooden form so we let you
do it go let’s go we first lift the bottom there you go you are good anyway eh I apply myself
I apply myself eh there so there after you see that allows us to remove the
wooden form we unmold there and suddenly we are going to pass it to Lucy and she is going to
show us how to put the lace ah the beast that we made there push to beast there push to beast okay so with the help of a pusher and a big needle okay the pusher what in Catalan
the planed the planed so in fact it takes 5 m of ribbon to make a pair of bigatan
okay and that was the shoe of our ancestors what the everyday shoe
we will say yes but the men wore black and the women red you see it has
changed a lot anyway they are unique models what it is always the same thing there and
we have tried precisely to diversify in fact all that and to bring touches of
different colors models with wedge heels we make a whole bunch of espadri that can be
worn by everyone whether they are Catalan or not Catalan so in Paris he wears the bigatana
exactly it is huge formerly traditional dance shoe go where the bigatanes have
become fashion accessories today even men wear these famous
Catalan espadries starting of course with Didier before leaving the Pyrénées Orientales Didier
recommends you taste the sins cute of all Catalans a delicacy known throughout the
world the rousquilles among the Tourons the recipe has been passed down from generation to generation
for over a century if you have the courage to get up at 4am like Didier you will have
the chance to be able to witness their preparation hello hi Didier oh there I am in the
right place at the right time I think not you are at the right time and you arrive
in the bosom of the breasts oh la la la once again Didier cannot
help but put his hand to the dough [Music] so these are
the historic cookie cutters which have the round shape to
actually mark the rouskie with the hole you plant the cookie cutter in the dough you
actually shake the cookie cutter and there you have hop a rousquille which falls you have to flour the
mold well otherwise the rousquille stays stuck go ahead and there there you go and there you go you position it here there do
n’t spread it too much otherwise after cooking it’s going to make little pancakes
there you see we tighten them a little bit and that’s the important thing is of course
it’s the shape and the cookie cutter but I think that what must be essential
is the making of the dough ah it’s of course the texture of the dough unlike
industrial rouskis the recipe for nougat is particularly soft thanks to an ingredient
that the whole family obviously keeps secret originally the Rouskis which were a medieval dry cake
were often flavored with Nice and so the principle was that they were placed
on pikes hence the hole in the middle which allowed them to be sold
in the markets or even to go up with a pole to the windows of the upper floors of the
houses what there you go when we get out of here we will have all the secrets of making
the dough of all absolutely do not agree after 5 minutes in the oven the rousk
come out puffed and golden it’s this airy dough and soft which makes all the difference the next step is it also
carried out using a completely artisanal technique or there it is the painting workshop there eh
here it is the icing it is based on what it is a lemon flavored meringue a
lemon flavored meringue okay this icing there you prepare it also well in advance
or No no no at the last moment at the last moment at the last moment because it must not
cool it must be hot ah it is hot there it is hot I
looked already I can I can try yes you have to dip so the hands the apples all not just
the fingers the whole apple franco more and we ice rather with the apple than with
the fingers to avoid making marks this one it borders on perfection too that like that yes yes it
is good the icing is the most delicate stage of the manufacturing
carried out a few minutes earlier under close supervision the meringue is still warm its
composition a clever mix of lemon juice and sugar heated to 112° very precisely no
more no less in fact the secret of the rousliers it is there in the magnifying glass it is the grandfather who has
been watching over things for 50 years when the mixture reaches the right temperature we incorporate it into
egg whites beaten until stiff then every minute counts before it begins to harden come on
it’s good let’s go [Music] there you see some of the work you did this morning it’s
not me who does that one in general all these rousquies are sold before noon so if you
want to taste them don’t delay [Music] these delicious little Catalan cakes
therefore end our journey in the eastern Pyrenees from the rocky coast to the
most remote valleys you will admire so many monuments and unforgettable scenery that you
really have to have seen in your life [Music]

La mer, la montagne et l’Espagne à un jet de pierre…

Pour découvrir les merveilles des plus belles régions de France, c’est ici – Abonnez-vous 👉 http://bit.ly/3zjR2Vj 🙏

Les Pyrénées orientales s’étendent jusqu’à la frontière espagnole. Baigné par un soleil généreux 300 jours par an, ce département multiplie les charmes, des pics pyrénéens jusqu’aux longues plages sablonneuses de la côte méditerranéenne.
Des vues magnifiques de l’extrême sud de la France, niché entre mer et montagne.

Réalisé par Gabrielle Dreand
© MORGANE PRODUCTION