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Off-season visitors enjoy the sun on terraces fronting one of the four beaches in the ancient Catalan fishing village of Collioure.

Off-season visitors enjoy the sun on terraces fronting one of the four beaches in the ancient Catalan fishing village of Collioure. (Karen Kindler / Special to Stars and Stripes)

Off-season visitors enjoy the sun on terraces fronting one of the four beaches in the ancient Catalan fishing village of Collioure.

Off-season visitors enjoy the sun on terraces fronting one of the four beaches in the ancient Catalan fishing village of Collioure. (Karen Kindler / Special to Stars and Stripes)

The medieval village of Colliore sits on a blue bay on the coastal road leading from Perpignan to Spain. In the distance is the modern resort of Argèles-Plage.

The medieval village of Colliore sits on a blue bay on the coastal road leading from Perpignan to Spain. In the distance is the modern resort of Argèles-Plage. (Karen Kindler / Special to Stars and Stripes)

The village of Castelnou, 30 minutes southwest of Perpignan by car in the foothills of the Pyrenees, surrounds the ruins of its 13th-century fortress.

The village of Castelnou, 30 minutes southwest of Perpignan by car in the foothills of the Pyrenees, surrounds the ruins of its 13th-century fortress. (Karen Kindler / Special to Stars and Stripes)

The narrow lanes of old town Collioure are lined with restored townhouses in bright pastels. The town is south of Perpignan on the coastal road to Spain.

The narrow lanes of old town Collioure are lined with restored townhouses in bright pastels. The town is south of Perpignan on the coastal road to Spain. (Karen Kindler / Special to Stars and Stripes)

A stroll from the numerous sidewalk cafes of the old town of Perpignan to the banks of the Basse River promenade takes the visitor through the archway of Le Castillet, the symbol of Perpignan and only remaining gate through the original medieval city wall.

A stroll from the numerous sidewalk cafes of the old town of Perpignan to the banks of the Basse River promenade takes the visitor through the archway of Le Castillet, the symbol of Perpignan and only remaining gate through the original medieval city wall. (Karen Kindler / Special to Stars and Stripes)

I’m at that age — over 50 — when settling in a sunny corner of the world starts to morph from a seductive dream into a preliminary plan. I own a house in Florida near the beach, but the idea of fading in among blue-haired neighbors and driving across town in search of blue-plate specials makes me, well, blue.

So, after enjoying the better part of a decade in Europe — most of it courtesy of Uncle Sam — and having sampled its southerly coasts from Turkey to Portugal, I’m pretty well spoiled beyond rescue.

I want the fabulous food and wine, excellent public transportation and romantic bits of history Europe has to offer. My future lies hidden among one of these rocky European shores. I just have to decide which one.

And so I am on a mission to sample them, one by one, one month at a time.

First on my list, France.

Unfortunately, I’ve already figured out that the Cote d’Azur is too expensive and too crowded. Why not the other end of France’s Mediterranean coast — the Languedoc region near the Spanish border, which boasts more than 300 days of sunshine a year?

So I checked it out this winter — stayed for a month in a little apartment above a medieval alley in Perpignan, the capital of the Pyrenées-Orientales, and crisscrossed the landscape, camera in hand. I signed up for French classes. And as a bonus, I registered for an online dating site. I figured I’d meet local people, and a little romantic dalliance is healthy for aging egos. So off I went.

I was completely seduced — by the region, not its men. I loved the little coastal communities near the Spanish border with their wide, sandy beaches between rocky promontories. I loved the acres of vineyards nestled among tiny medieval hill towns, and the castle ruins on remote cliffs.

I loved the proximity of Spain with its relatively inexpensive gasoline and alcohol, and its fabulous olives, chocolate and gazpacho. I loved the craggy Pyrenees dotted with ski resorts, charming villages and hidden monasteries. And the cheese — I really loved that cheese.

Of course, it wasn’t all about great wine and cheese and pretty snapshots. I learned some important lessons, too.

• The first one was about living in one of the quaint medieval alleys I love to photograph.

“Many French people live in smaller places,” my Aussie landlord had shrugged as he showed me my new digs.

“It should do fine,” I replied, mentally calculating my quarters to be about 250 square feet. For a month, yes, it would do … barely.

“The shutters are great, if you want to sleep in,” he added.

Well, yes they were. It was easy to achieve pitch blackness, but far harder to entice a little daylight in. In winter, the sun never touches the alley I’d chosen. Ever. It went from dim grey in the morning to dim yellow when the street lights popped on at night. I had to lean out the open window to check the weather.

On the other hand, I did have WiFi, could park nearby for free, and I could walk to all the interesting parts of the old city.

Lesson learned: Rent before buying. Calculate sun angles. Get a penthouse or stay away from narrow lanes.

• French. Thanks to the Internet, everyone speaks English, right?

In tourist-oriented businesses, I found that to be true. But it pretty well stopped there. My attempt to buy a French SIM card for my German cell phone and, later, to track down a book revealed the truth: I would definitely have to parle français if I was going to manage the basics of living in France. The kids might get plenty of English at school, but like any subject kids cram for, it dissipates quickly.

So signing up for French classes had been an excellent idea.

Lesson learned: French immersion classes are a must — both to speak French and to network with other émigrés.

• Men. There are thousands online looking for women in the region. Some are young and attractive; others are pushing the limit of their warranties. And still others are married (and this being France, completely OK with listing that fact in their online announcement).

I tried a couple of hookups, amused myself, and made a friend (in the local real estate business … handy, huh?).

Lesson learned: There’s hookup potential for older women, and making local connections is useful in non-romantic ways as well.

Will I retire in this corner of France after what I’ve seen and learned? I don’t know yet. There are several other corners worth a month of my time.

There’s Italy. And Turkey. And Greece.

And I have a few years left to decide. I plan to enjoy the process.

Karen Kindler, a retired colonel with the Air Force Reserve, is working on a memoir of her active-duty European adventures. E-mail her at siestanow@yahoo.com.

Know and Go

I picked my apartment on the Web at Vacation Rentals By Owner and was very satisfied with the experience. The deposit was easy with Pay-Pal and my Australian landlord was a very friendly and helpful guy.

The Web site www.alfmed.com/uk/index.php offers lots of French language classes to choose from, and the staff was terrific (and happy to switch to English as needed). The Web site includes a self-test in French to help determine your level.

Want to try the French online dating service? It’s fun, but you do need a minimum of French language ability. Check out http://meetic.fr.

Try to avoid the region during July and August if you dislike crowds or traffic jams. May and September are the best “summer” periods to visit -- preferably September, when water temperatures in the Mediterranean are the warmest.

— Karen Kindler

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