The poor were starving to death on the streets of Paris. In the royal palace, the king’s breakfast consisted of 4 chops, a full chicken, six poached eggs and a slice of ham, washed down with a bottle and a half of champagne.

Beware the Oleander shrub, popular in the P-O for its evergreen qualities and delicate flowers and planted in quantity to jazz up roadsides, and gardens.

On a plateau of the Corbières, near Salses, with panoramic views of sea and lagoon, visible from the A9 motorway and the N9, stands the “Porta dels Països Catalans”, or ‘Gate to the Catalan Countries’.

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