Are you in a mood to go boating down in underground stream if it's not too suggestive of the River Styx? Are you fond of old bridges, half-forgotten abbeys, and hilltop villages? Do you respond to the thrill of mountain passes and the snowy majesty of the Pyrénées? Getting down to fundamentals, do you like trout fishing, hunting the wild boar, the nimble hare, and the vanishing mountain goat? More essential still, do you like oysters, cèpes, woodcock flaming in brandy, duck's liver cooked with raisins? And are you sympathetic to old Armagnac and to the noble Roquefort cheese? If the answer is yes, the noble province of Gascony is made for you. May I point it out on the map?
The borders of French provinces are often illogical and complex. Officially, La Gascogne and La Guyenne make up a single province. In area it is the largest in France, sprawling across the southern confines from the Atlantic almost to the Mediterranean and including no less than nine départements. But we have already nibbled into this area with three articles on the gastronomic temptations of the Périgord, the Bordelais, and the Béarn.
What remains is a wandering strip of countryside of great beauty. But what about the food? Take away the wine of Bordeaux, the unfiles and foie gras of Périgord, the peppers and chocolate of the Béarn, and what do you have left? The answer, we are glad to say, is “plenty,” as you will see.
Nature has been generous to some parts of Gascony, stingy to others. The hills of the Lot are barren, and many farms are abandoned, but the slopes of Armagnac roll in abundance. Balance them all, and you have a province worthy of its many epicures. Its oyster beds at Arcachon produce delectable bivalves. Trout, salmon, and shad inhabit its swift streams, and high-booted fishermen are a familiar sight each summer. The hunter has a field day pursuing game in the mountains and trying to draw a bead on that most elusive of animals, the isard, or mountain goat. Farmyard creatures thrive, from baby chicks to turkeys. So do snails, cèpes, and, in a good humid year, truffles. The divine goose develops a fine case of fatty degeneration of the liver in the early winter, and its clear yellow fat serves better than butter in most Gascon dishes. The wines, aside from those of Bordeaux, are adequate country ones, but do not possess much distinction. But its vineyard slopes produce an abundance of Armagnac, one of the two fine brandies in France.
The natives of Gascony have a reputation for reckless bravery, a quick wit, and a decided loquacity. The boastful d'Artagnan, needless to say, was a Gascon, but so was Maréchal Foch, one of the quietest heroes in history. Conversation in a town cafe is unquestionably more animated in Gascony than in most parts of France, even though the drinking habits are more restrained.
The varied richness of Gascony, even in the emasculated form presented here, is amazing. Its western confines are dull—a vast area of pine forests and occasional swamps. But the rest is an ever-changing panorama of mountains and ravines, of vine-clad hills in Armagnac, and sheep strewn pastures in the Aveyron. If you are seeking excitement and novelty, there is the Gouffre de Padirac, a deep well which leads to a subterranean river. Elevators take you down to flat-bottomed boats and the eerie sensation of paddling three miles in the River Styx. One of the most extraordinary villages in France is here—Conques, a fantastic Settlement high in the hills, which has been a point of pilgrimage for centuries. Its Romanesque church of Sainte-Foy boasts an unrivaled sculptured portal and shelters an incredible treasure of silver religious objects, one of the richest in the world. Lourdes, the greatest religious shrine after Rome, is in Gascony. The region is particularly rich in old bridges, some dating back to Roman times. St. Affrique, Espalion, Estaing, and Cahors have the most striking ones. Cathedrals are sparser here, but Romanesque churches abound. Above all, Gascony glories in its mountains. Les Pyrénées. They are not supposed to be so spectacular as the Alps, but it would be difficult to find any sight more breathtaking than the Cirque de Gavarnie at the far tip of Gascony. Now don't you want to go there?.
The wandering sybarite will find much encouragement in Gascony. even though the gastronomic shrines are thinly spread. The following spots on the map should provide good cheer and nourishment and will make up a notable trip through this exciting province:
Dax (Landes)
This is a watering place, an inland one, where rheumatic sufferers can wallow in beneficial mud and where a large clientele comes for the cure. The fountains and hot springs of Dax have been famous since Roman times, when the Emperor Augustus brought his daughter here in search of a cure for her delicate bronchial tubes. There are several hotels for the patient souls who follow the cure, but we are concerned more about the robust gourmet in fine fettle. There is a place for him, too. It is the relatively unassuming HÔTEL DU CHEVAL BLANC. The gastronomic splendor of this cheerful hotel is due to the influence of a fine cook, Monsieur Bernard, whose international experience has taken him from Paris to Monte Carlo to Brussels to London—and back to Dax. It is a joy to accost his quenelles de brochet en croûte, his paulet basquaise, and his luxuriously stuffed cóte de veau. The hotel is a likable little place, modern and spot-less, with overtones of Basque décor. There are good regional wines in the cellar, and the prices are fair, with service included.
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