Day 21 Lectoure
Our breakfast this morning was extra special as Madam is the cook of the house and the restaurant attached so she took a lot of pride in her food. Our chocolate chaud (hot chocolate) was real melted chocolate mixed with cream which was perfect and made it a very enjoyable start. As we wait for the van I use the time to browse through a gallery across the road from where we stayed the night. It is exhibiting works of Jean-Louise Toutain - the large black sculptures that we saw in Moissac - I will try to put up a photo for today's symbol. Take a look in Google at his work- he is from Toulouse and his works are largely of large rounded robust women in shiny black stone - too large to consider bringing home but a joy to discover.
I can't talk about walking today but I can comment about the experience of meeting the driver of the van who transports luggage for the pelerins between the villages and towns. He is half French and half German. He has only taken over this business a year ago and is taking the idea slowly before making changes. What was fascinating was that he was able to trace his family history back to William the conqueror days and was able to inform us that there was actually no Battle of Hastings - the Normans and the "Anglo tribes" agreed to meet and leave peacefully, with very few dead. Apparently the "Brits paid handsomely to avoid being massacred and allowed to leave a so called honourable defeat. French people say this is the same today. For those of you interested in history,your views would be of interest to us. Is this like Brexit 1000 years ago?

We are now in an area called Gascony - The following is copied from our guide book- it gives a more accurate description than I am able to attempt.

'Gascony’s historic natural borders were the Atlanic ocean to the west, the Pyrenees mountains to the south, and the Garonne River, which originates in the Pyrenees and ows northwest through Toulouse to Bordeaux. Gascony also includes the vineyards of Armagnac that grow on the hills between the Garonne and Adour rivers.
Over the centuries Gascone has been occupied by different cultures- in pre- historic times it was the land of the Vascones, or Basques, who were later conquered by the Romans (1st century), Visigoths (5th century), Franks (6th century), Basques (7th century), Norsemen (9th century) and finally by the English in 1154. By the 13th century, England’s last small possession in France was the duchy of Gascony. When King Philip VI of France (1328-1350) seized Gascony in 1337, King Edward II of England declared war, thus starting the devastaing Hundred Years’ War. The region was taken from the English in 1453 and was united with France in 1607 under the rule of Henry IV of France.
The land in Gascony is fertile. Close to the Garonne river are fruit orchards (including plums for which the region is famous), and further south, crops such as corn for animal feed and wheat. It is re- nowned for its natural and hearty foods, such as duck con t (duck legs cooked in fat), blood sausage, prunes, foie gras (a French delicacy made from duck liver) and garbure (a stew made from cabbage, vegetables and preserved meats). Gascony also produces Armagnac (a type of brandy dis lled from grapes) and oc, a lighter aperi f made from local grapes and for ed with Armagnac. The Gascon dialect is a variant of Occitan and is di erent from the Basque language. '

We arrive in Lectoure early of course and before our gite is officially open but the owner is kind to allow us to dump our bags and put on the light backpacks in order to go out and explore.
We find a brocante which is a flea market in an huge building that was once a hospital and a chapel. It is an antique collectors dream and we spend a lot of time sifting through beautiful linens, cutlery, clocks, furniture, paintings, jewellery, children's furniture, old toys - the list goes on and on. And then there is the weird like the huge black stone ape that sits on the park bench in the garden or a sculpture of a dancing blue dolphin or perhaps you would like 40 champagne bottle chillers. You can imagine the interior decorators getting very excited about all the possibilities. I am glad daughter Caitlin is not with us as we would be needing to organise a shipping container in no time to transport all her purchases. ( don't tell her that this place exists