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. 

Day 23: Larressingle to Eauze 28 Kilometers

Breakfast including home-baked whole grain bread was a nice way to start the day.  Also got a glimpse of the Pyrenees mountains from the porch. Said goodbye to Martine and her trusty dog, Gandalf, and we set off.  The paths are slowly drying out so a little less puddle jumping.  Had our first animal sighting when we saw what we believe to be a boar. It was down in a field and at first we thought it might be a be a dog or a bear.  Crazy! Our first stop was in Montreal (that's right....so how many Sprigfields are there?).  Took care of business and got a proper coffee and continued.  Zig zagged our way through vineyards where we actually saw them harvesting the grapes using a crazy machine.  Pique-inqued at Elena's in Lamothe.  After lunch we started on this long straight flat trail.  Wasn't very scenic but was very peaceful, except for our Geese encounter (thank goodness for the fence). Arrived in Eauze where we did a quick look around (saw our Australian friends), procured provisions for Sunday and then found our Gite, slightly on the outskirts of town.  Rested for a while with a nice treat of FaceTime with Eric. Had a very different dinner at our Gite. Had a potato salad with tomatoes, olives, and cheese.  And then had grilled Anguilla (eel).  Surprisingly tasty!

Gite Chez Nadine - nice, eclectic, kind and helpful owner