Tuesday, November 13, 2007

About the Gers

The Gers department is part of the Midi-Pyrenees region of South West France. It is in fact the heart of old Gascony and is a spacious, green département within striking distance of the Atlantic coast with its wonderful beaches and the Pyrenees with their winter skiing and summer walking. It boasts a wealth of leisure lakes, many with man-made beaches and guarded swimming and a variety of other water-based activities.

It is an area of generally unspoilt countryside with very little industry apart from that which is related to farming; this is the production of Armagnac, foie gras and confit de canard. There are no motorways cutting a swathe through the hills and very little dual carriageway so driving is both pleasurable and easy. The good news continues as wherever you are in the Gers you are no more than 2 hours from an airport, Toulouse, Pau, Bordeaux, Bergerac and Biarritz, and normally significantly less than this. The TGV is available from Agen and is about a 4 hour journey from Paris, so although we are a long way south we are by no means inaccessible.
                             
For nature lovers flora and fauna abound and if you take one of the many walks that criss-cross the region you will be bound to make some glorious discoveries; they might be deer, lesser swallowtail butterflies, orchids or the cheeky, crested hoopoe. Enjoy your walking alone or with a ramblers club, travel the routes of St. Jacques de Compostelle as they wind their way down to Spain. Take in the medieval walled towns known as ‘bastides’ and other lovely old villages. Visit the stunning Roman remains and marvel at the mosaics that are in such excellent condition despite having been laid in the second century BC.
              
For music lovers there is much to offer with well known festivals being held during the summer months. Mirande is the home of the country music festival and Marciac holds an annual, international jazz festival. Classical music concerts are held at the Abbey at Flaran and at the magnificent cathedral in Auch. Auch as the department capital is worth a visit in its own right with its narrow medieval streets and architecture. The choir stalls in the cathedral are carved works of art fabricated from oak seasoned in the River Gers. A pleasant riverside walk leads you to a magnificent, ancient, stone stairway that leads up to the cathedral. Situated part way up these stairs is the statue of one of Gascony’s most famous sons, the legendary D’Artagnan, hero of Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers. A visit to the village of Lupiac, home to the D’Artagnan museum is not far away should you wish to learn more of his life and times.

The Gers boasts the attractive market town of Eauze which is the capital of the Armagnac producing region. It is also home to several quaffable, but less well known wines notably St. Mont and Tariquet. It is the top producer of foie gras in France which is served cold or hot when it becomes totally different. Duck is also often seen on the menu either as magret which is duck breast or as confit which is duck that has been preserved in its own fat. Fresh fruit and vegetables abound and of course bread and a plethora of cheeses. Most restaurants are open throughout the year as this is a vibrant region that doesn’t close for the winter.