GR653 Via Tolosana, last part: Day 4 L'Isle-Arné - Auch

Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour...
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes
To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes.

(When in April the sweet showers fall
That pierce March's drought to the root and all
And bathed every vein in liquor that has power
To generate therein and sire the flower...

Then folk do long to go on pilgrimage,
And palmers to go seeking out strange strands,
To distant shrines well known in distant lands.)

- Geoffrey Chaucer, Canterbury Tales

As Chaucer noted back in 1387, April is the perfect time to begin a pilgrimage. The sun is warm but still soft, the birds are singing and the flowers are blooming. The open road beckons! And so, as soon as the "shoures soote" stopped bathing every veyne quite so often, off we went in search of "straunge strondes" and "ferne halwes"!

Auch feels truly straunge and ferne. Even the name - how do you pronounce it? It doesn't look like French, or even Spanish; more like German, maybe? (It actually comes from the Roman name, Augusta Ausciorum). The churches have a Spanish look about them, while the houses look exactly like the ones in Asterix's village! 

"Excuse me, is this where Getafix the druid lives?" 

The first half of today's walk was enchanting. We strolled under the trees along the edges of green wheatfields. We saw deer, falcons, hares, and an unidentified cat-sized rodent. We heard the song of the cuckoo and a chorus of frogs worthy of King's College Cambridge.

We passed through the Bois des Fées (the Fairies' Wood) to the castle of Chateau Montegut. And we had a clear view of the Pyrenees, a daunting wall of rock and snow on the horizon - do we really have to walk across those?? 

Then we took a shortcut along a road to shave a couple of kilometres off today's total, which was somewhat less enchanting, and hotter, and harder on the feet. But it was all worth it when we stepped into Auch cathedral just as the famous organ began playing! 

Leaving our bit of heavan at Pied-à-terre en Gascogne in the morning

With Marius and Peter in Lusson

Lusson

Montegut

Arriving in Auch

L'escalier monumental

D'Artagnan

Improvised laundry line in our room at La Noctile youth hostel

La Noctile youth hostel: a bit different from pilgrim accommodations in Chaucer's day

L'Isle-Arné - Auch 21.5 km

GR653 Via Tolosana, last part: Day 3 Giscaro - L'Isle-Arné

Le pied: un objet simple et moderne pour vivre debout.
- poster at Gîte Le Grangé

Hung about the comfortable Gîte Le Grangé as long as we could and then set off along the grassy path by which we had arrived. We passed through the hamlet of Giscaro and continued straight on to Gimont, where we stocked up on groceries for the next couple of days. In the supermarket we ran into our new German friends, a couple of Austrian pilgrims, and - Asterix and Obelix, along with their whole village of indomitable Gauls!

This bird has wings but prefers to walk, like us

The church of Giscaro

Indomitable Gauls out doing their shopping

With provisions for the next two days securely put away in our packs, we then explored the town of Gimont, a bastide, that is, a medieval market town surrounded by walls. 

Upon leaving the town, we found a park by a small lake, the perfect place for a picnic - in the company of a gaggle of geese. Did I mention that Gimont is the foie gras capital of the world?

Leaving our picnic spot, we stopped by the abbey of Cazuhac before continuing across farmland and through woods to our destination for today, Gîte Pied-à-terre en Gascogne near L'Isle-Arné. 

In this island of tranquillity we prepared a spaghetti dinner with our German friends Marius and Peter, who then made us peppermint tea with mint leaves from the garden. We are sharing this wonderful place with the young Austrian couple we ran into in Gimont, a Frenchman who has just finished cooking himself an elaborate seafood dinner, and six young women walking from Auch to Toulouse on a bachelorette trip! 

GR653 Via Tolosana last part: Day 2 L'Isle-Jourdain - Giscaro

Ce n'est pas parce que les choses sont difficiles que nous n'osons pas, c'est parce que nous n'osons pas qu'elles sont difficiles
- Seneca

The difficulties of the Way can be overcome, provided you are flexible. Not one but two of the pilgrim accommodations we had booked turned out to be unable to accommodate us, so we retraced our steps by bus and stayed in a budget hotel near Toulouse last night. The buses don't run on Sundays, so we took the train for a few stops this morning to get back on the trail at the closest possible point to where we left off last night.

Upon arriving in L'Isle-Jourdain we bought picnic supplies before setting off along the trail; surprisingly, several of the local shops were open on Sunday!

Today we walked through woods and wheat fields, over rolling hills and streams, and through the picturesque village of Montferran-Savès. We are in the heart of  Gascogne, land of foie-gras and armagnac.

That cosy feeling of knowing that a warm shower, a good meal and a comfy bed await you, only 1.8 km away! 

Today's destination was Gîte le Grangé, just outside Giscaro. One of the best places we've stayed so far! Cute dormitories with linens provided, a communal living room with a fireplace and a massaging armchair, dinner cooked by the owners. We shared our evening meal with Enrico, who set out from Padua on March 11, and two German walkers, Marius and Peter.

L'Isle-Jourdain - Giscaro 17 km