Condom, Auch and the Pilgrim Trail to the Pyrenees

Tuesday morning found us back to our leisurely morning routine -- even more so it seemed, now that we were nearly within sight of the Pyrenees Mountains. But we eventually roused ourselves from the warm bed, cleaned up, dressed up and joined Richard and Pauline for breakfast. (photo: memorial to the soldiers from Condom who died in service of their country.)

After fueling ourselves for a day of exploring the "Gers" we grabbed our coats and headed outside to see if Richard's Citroen DS would start. I remember years ago, in my Car & Driver subscription days, reading that the DS was the most comfortable vehicle ever built.

After sitting in the driver's seat I can assure you that it is the most comfortable chair I have ever sat in.This is the kind of car one could easily drive across the US in non-stop. It's not just a sense of luxuriousness but truly a comfortable seat designed by someone who intended to sit and cruise for hours on end. Sadly the battery failed to provide the necessary juice and we couldn't cruise anywhere.

So it was back in the other Citroen, newer to be sure but somehow lacking in the character of the DS. Anyway we were off to . . . Condom!

We strolled through the city, famous for a number of things besides what you're thinking right now, one of the most important of which is being a major stop on the Way of St. James, the pilgrimage trail to Santiago de Campostela. (Indeed, the next stop after Condom is Larressingle, the tiny fortified hamlet we visited on Monday.)



The sun peeked out once or twice on our stroll through this wonderful little town. After a swing through the cathedral and a walk around the city center we couldn't help but feel that this was a place one could easily consider spending quality time in, as in living in, if you get my drift. While this may be rural France it's not "provincial" in the usual sense of the word. There are numerous festivals and events throughout the year here, indeed throughout the Gers in general. All are tied to a pilgrimage of one sort or another: to follow the Way of St. James, the way of Armagnac, the way of the Mountains, whatever.

We returned to the car park, climbed into the Citroen and headed toward our next stop for the day: Auch (pronounced like "osh" as in "Osh-Kosh").

Our first stop was the cathedral. Now we're not pilgrims in the strict sense of word, at least as it's understood along this route in southern France, but we have always felt our travels are a pilgrimage along the road to experience and understanding -- of what though, I'm less clear on, however.

It is true that a great many churches, in Europe and elsewhere, can begin to look alike. On the face of it they are, after all, huge piles of stone and marble shaped in a variety of ways all toward the same purpose: to explain and promote a particular way of seeing the world. 

That said, one has to marvel at the beauty and the incredible work and imagination that went into such "glories to God."

The cathedral in Auch was just one of those marvels.

Two things in particular stand out: the fantastic hand-carved choir seats (the photo does not do justice to the intricate artwork and variety of figures used):

And then there are the stunning 15th century stained glass panels. Each panel represented a biblical setting but each also contained at least one "sibyl," a prophetess with pagan overtones. 

That aside, the colors in each panel are as vivid as the day they were first created and literally seem to pop off the glass.

The four of us had a delicious lunch at the wonderful Le Daroles in the heart of beautiful Auch, just a stone's throw from the cathedral. We each had the formule Midi and enjoyed an early afternoon chatting and just swapping travel stories.

(The formule idea is catching on in Providence as well -- more and more upscale restaurants are going with a three-course fixed price menu these days it seems.)

After leaving the restaurant we strolled around the town, paying a visit to Dartagnan's statue (his character was reportedly based on the real life story of a musketeer from Auch it seems).

Walking down from the cathedral hilltop toward the river we also passed a unique bit of sculpture right beneath our feet: the first few chapters of the Book of Genesis, in Latin, with raised letters laid out ever so carefully in the walkway.

After an eye-opening, incredibly fascinating day exploring the Gers with Richard and Pauline, being shown the sights of places never imagined and poorly understood (by me at any rate), we headed home to relax before dinner.

That evening the four of us again piled into the Citroen and headed off to La Florida restaurant in, I believe, Castera Verduzan.

The food was delicious, wine perfect (local of course) and the conversation warm. In keeping with our standing record, it was nice that we had the restaurant to ourselves. (That made three times in a row for Susie and I.)



A grand way to finish a too-short stay in the Midi Pyrenees!

Wish you had been there,


Steve