The agriculture is slowly changing. We have passed uncountable fields of dead sunflowers, waiting to be harvested. Also lots of corn, some sorghum, and finally today we got into some extensive vineyards, of the varieties used to make Armagnac.
Lunch at the end of our hike in the village of Montreal-du-Gers yesterday was an omelet with slices of apple soaked in armagnac and for supper we were fortunate to have a taste of this 'digestif' after tonight"s communal dinner. We were 8 at the table - us, 2 gals from Montreal, one Swiss lady who has walked from Lausanne, one German, and an Englishman who is a friend of the German and the hostess, also German but living in the village now. A very convivial group, with English, French and German ongoing all at once sometimes.
View from the back door of our Gite
Today's hike took us on to the city of Eauze. (Pronounced - A USE). It is the capital of Armagnac
Tonight's dinner showcased the food of the Gascogne region. Aperatif was Floc, made from Armagnac and either red or white wine. Red one was a bit sweet, and white one was drier. Starter was veggie soup, smooth and velvety. Main course was a surprise to us and the two Quebcoise staying here with us. It was duck hearts served with scalloped potatoes au gratin. We all ate some and it was actually OK. Dessert was a red fruit crumble, with roasted chataignes (an edible chestnut) on the side. You eat this with another local wine which is only available for a short time each year. Le Bourret is this year's wine (either red or white) which is allowed to continue to ferment in the bottle. It is sold without a stopper in it, as it would only explode if closed up. It is served chilled, and again was a little sweet. Our hosts were very friendly and sat and chatted with us after the meal. Their accent can be a bit hard to follow, and they speak very quickly sometimes. Combined with our Quebecoise friends, we were a little lost sometimes.
We hike on tomorrow. We hike between 15 and 20 km a day and that is enough for us.
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