Day 25: Arblade-La-Haut to Aire-Sur-L'Adour 25 Kilometers

A good night's sleep. Can't always say that on the way.  Breakfast of champions as we had yogurt and granola for the second day in a row. Yes! An early start gave way to some quickly wet feet.  A busy road led us to walk a mowed path. Arg! Tried to take an alternate path but didn't really save much time. The Pyrenees were even more visible today. Had a long morning break before heading to Barcelonne (not Barcelona) which was the neighbor town to where we are staying tonight.  Got to town just before the Carrefour Market was closing so we were able to restock our food stores.  After getting to our destination town we were far too early to check in (again) so we got our first proper coffee in two days.  Had our daily picnic and then a bit of a wait when we finally checked in at the Gite and took care of daily chores.  Took a city tour and then came back and planned for the next day.  Planning lately has been hard because we like to cover ground but at the same time we like to stop and smell the roses, so to speak.  Factor in where the resources are and it can be difficult.  The whole " booking ahead" is probably the one thing on the Chemin that is not necessarily to our liking but we understand that we are staying at places that prepare meals that need to know for their planning. Another lovely community dinner with our hosts Alejandro and Isabella, former Pilgrims from Spain. I (Ed) found it amusing to converse with Isabella as she knows a little English and I know very little French but we communicated well in Spanish! 

La Maison des Pelerins - An older place in the city.  Albergue feel.  "Hospitaleros" that are super helpful.  

Day 24: Eauze to Arblade-la-haut 22 kilometers

Got up early today and had a different breakfast....yogurt and granola!! No bread and jam. Hung out at the Gite for a while as we knew we had a short day.  After getting underway, we clipped off ten kilometers quickly arriving at Mainciet.  Supposed to find things open.  Found nothing.  Continued on not seeing a whole lot except the outline of the Pyrenees most of the day which is an encouragement and a bit daunting considering we plan to cross them in just over a week.  We did encounter a man with a large gun and a dog who was bird hunting.  Arrived in Nogaro just a few minutes past noon where we found a grocery store and a patisserie still open.  They closed soon after we had procured food for today and some provisions for tomorrow.  Monday doesn't promise to find many resources because of the normal closings and the somewhat desolate path.  We feel fortunate.  Relaxing pique-nique at the park followed by a tour of the town cathedral that had some amazing frescos discovered not long ago and other ancient artifacts from the 11th century.  A very short three kilometers brought us to our Gite that is very nice (private room).  Got to relax and catch a nap before our dinner.  The meal tonight was, once again, outstanding.  The soup was a puréed root vegetable soup that we could have eaten all night.  But the next course was a slow-cooked beef with rice.  Sounds like just a regular family dinner but it was superb.  

Gite D'etape Arbladoise - quite a fine compound with garden and swimming pool.  The rooms are simple and very clean.  Fabulous food.  Friendly owners.