We woke up Sunday morning to low hanging fog over the Gers hills, with a view of the Pyrénées beyond. It was a beautiful morning!
We had lunch with our friend Judy, and her niece Louise, at Les Caprices de Lagraulet. It was the best meal we’ve had! We think that every time we eat at Les Caprices. Laurence, the chef is amazing!
On Wednesday afternoon, Papa and I went to the Archaeological Museum of Lectoure. We enjoyed the museum’s permanent collection plus a visiting exhibition, La Villa de Seviac. The Seviac exhibition included objects from the luxurious Gallo-Roman villa, built in the 4th century on an older villa. With a surface of 6500m2, it is considered one of the largest residences in the Gaul, and is distinguished by its mosaics and vast thermal baths. We enjoyed the museum!
“One of the oldest museums in France and identified as such since the sixteenth century, Lectoure’s Archaeology Museum is housed in the vaulted cellars of the Town Hall, a former Bishop’s Palace. Exhibiting collections of Gallo-Roman archaeological finds discovered on the site of the ancient city or its surrounds, it is above all known for a collection of sacred altars called tauroboliques which date from the second and third century A.D.
Objects and documents from the Gallic and medieval periods make up the rest of the exhibit alongside a depiction of the lives of two famous Lectoure natives, the Maréchal d’Empire Lannes et l’Amiral Boué de Lapeyrère.”
Papa and I went on a 5+ mile hike from home on Sunday morning. It was a clear day, with the Pyrenees visible. We hiked past the east cemetery in Lectoure, down into the valley then up a long hill to a ridge that overlooks Lectoure, and is covered in sunflowers and grape vines. We hiked down a farm road and into another valley, then back to Lectoure, coming up the hill by the cemetery on the west side. It was a long invigorating hike!
I woke up to mostly clear skies, with sun tinted pink clouds, and a view of the snow tipped Pyrenees. By 8:00, hot air balloons were firing up next to the rugby field, and were soon in the air. It was a beautiful morning with fog hanging over low fields.
Papa and I were up early on Monday morning and took the train to Arcachon from Bordeaux. The ride was about 50 minutes, and we exited the Gare into the city. We walked to the beach and along the boardwalk, had a good lunch at Alma Mia Cucina, then took a local bus to Dune du Pilat, the largest sand dune in Europe. By 4 in the afternoon, we took the bus back to the Gare, then got on the train back to Bordeaux. We had time for bowls of onion and fish soup at Cafe du Levant before we caught our train to Agen, and drove home. Along the way, we ran into people we knew - a friend of a friend in Arcachon, and two friends from Lectoure in the Gare in Agen. A good day!
We were up early and drove to Agen for our 9:30 train to Bordeaux. We arrived at 10:40, walked across the street to drop our backpacks, then set off on a walk in Bordeaux. Unfortunately the first hour was rainy, but we bought an umbrella. We had lunch reservations at 12:15 at a recommended restaurant (excellent!), and we finished by 2. The rain had stopped and the sky was clearing, so we walked along the Garonne River, into various churches, went to an antique car show, and enjoyed our day in Bordeaux!
