Our Blog - The Gers department

The marathon was being run this weekend in Toulouse, and since it goes right by our apartment, all of the roads were going to be blocked from 5am to 3pm, and there would be lots of people milling around. This would mean that we couldn't take Lucy to puppy school, nor were we going to be able to walk her around much. So because of that, we decided that it would be best for us just to head out of town. While Lucy has been in the car multiple times, it is normally only for 30 minutes at a time (with the exception of her first trip here, which was about 7 hours). So we limited our search to within a 2-hour radius of Toulouse, and decided to head to Gers.

The department of Gers is just to the West of Haute-Garonne (where we live). It was created during the French Revolution from part of the old province of Gascony (Gascogne) and you still see the term Gascogne all around. The Gers is known for its hilly landscapes. The moving hills are interspersed with valleys where artificial lakes devoted to agriculture are often hidden. The department is known as the department of Duck, although they also produce a variety of other agricultural crops (corn, wheat, rapeseed and sunflower) although they are used for raising duck. In addition to the various duck products, they also produce several kinds of wine as well as Armagnac (a brandy) and Floc (grape juice fortified with armagnac).

As we drove out, we stopped at 4 different vineyards to try out their wines (and of course, to buy some!). We stayed at a small Bed & Breakfast out in the country, and our host made us dinner reservations at a small Auberge nearby called Au Vieux Pressoir. We were very thankful as we didn't know much about the restaurants nearby and the food was great. We had their "house" aperitif, which was sparkling wine with an orange liquor. Note the sword emblem on the glass, which we assume is for d'Artagnan, who I will talk about shortly.

Sunday was a slow day, as not that much is open on Sundays! So we took our time and visited a few small villages along the way. I'm sure everyone will add their own joke here ... because Condom was our first stop. The name comes from the Gaulish words condate and magos combined into Condatomagos, which means "market or field, of the confluence". It eventually evolved to Condomus and Condomium (in Latin) in the 10th century. Although the French word for a condom is préservatif, the town's mayor decided to take advantage of the relationship with the English word and open a museum of contraceptives in 1995 (it closed in 2005).

Next to the cathedral, there is a statue of The Three Musketeers and d'Artagnan, created in 2010 by Zurab Tsereteli. Memoirs of Charles de Batz de Castelmore (alias d'Artagnan) were published 27 years after his death based on a set of scattered notes (so most believe it was a mix of truth and fiction anyway). Alexandre Dumas was inspired by these memoirs to create his character D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers (although he wasn't actually one of the Musketeers). There is no link (or at least none that I can find) between D'Artagnan and Condom, only that he was born in what is now the department of Gers.

One of the few things we actually saw in town was the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Condom. Like with many churches, what is seen today has been rebuilt several times. This building dates from 1507-1531 when the cathedral was rebuilt after the bell tower collapsed. It is one of the last achievements of the Southern Gothic style, with huge buttresses that enclose the side chapels. Both doors are richly carved, one on the side and then one under the large tower. In the square in front of the clock tower is a large metal cross.

They were getting ready to start services, so I grabbed a couple pictures from the doorway is all ... no visitors during services. It has gilded key vaults, large bays with flamboyant overtones, and these intricately carved screens on both sides of the nave.

And here she is, our little Lucy celebrating her 4-month birthday on the steps of the cross in Place Bossuet! There are not that many Corgis in France and she seems to be somewhat of a celebrity. In Toulouse, tons of people stop to ask us about the "little fox" (petit renard) and the dog that is the same as the Queen of England. But in Condom, we hit something we have never had before. It is a small city and there wasn't *THAT* much traffic in the downtown area on a Sunday. We are training her to sit before crossing a road, only crossing on command, then sitting on the other side. So we have her sitting to wait for the cars to pass before crossing and the car that we are waiting for actually STOPS and asks (in French) if that puppy is the same race as those the Queen of England! First time we've ever had someone stop their car to ask about our puppy! A true celebrity!!

We took a leisurely stroll through the downtown area, to Square Salvandy where we saw this unique structure ... can't find any information on it, but it was nice.

Across the street was a lovely park with a water fountain ... again, sorry, no information :-(

And you can see a bunch of work being down in what I assume will be a lovely pedestrian area along side rue Jean Jaurès.

Next, we headed to the Abbey of Flaran near the little village of Valence-sur-Baïse. The abbey was founded in 1151 by Burgundian monks. The abbey was damaged during the Hundred Years' War, and then engulfed by fire during the French Wars of Religion. It was sold off during the French Revolution and then underwent an intense restoration project in 1972 after it was purchased by the department of Gers. They were getting ready to close for lunch and puppies weren't allowed inside, so we looked at the outside and then took Lucy for a walk of the grounds.

As we got to the end of the property, Lucy found a large pile of leaves that had been gathered up from the trees on the property. She had a really nice time exploring!

Our host at the B&B mentioned the "Petite Carcassonne" of the Gers", Larressingle. You'll note I didn't call it a town or village, because, well, it really isn't either. It *USED* to be a fortified village, one of the smallest and most beautiful fortified villages in France ... now just a heritage site for people to visit. It really does take you back to the 12th and 13th centuries ... boundary walls, crenellated towers, a moat, the 13th century entrance door, a fortified church from the 12th century, and medieval terraced houses. It is listed as one of the most beautiful villages in France, and you can actually see why. Next door is the Medieval Siege Camp of the Middle Ages, where you can discover the techniques of the art of the war of siege. I just took lots of pictures so that you can try to imagine this ... note that it is actually REALLY small!

The castle has a Romanesque church dedicated to Saint Sigismund (the statue on the left in the last picture).

And with that .... we sat and relaxed with a cup of espresso and then hit the road back to Toulouse. We are thinking this would be a great 3-4 day trip in the summer, when more things are open. We can stay at the B&B as a base and then spend a day visiting villages in one direction or the other ... as well as trying the wine, floc, and foie gras from all of the small producers.