In the heart of the Gers and Haute-Garonne, talented craftsmen bring up to date ancestral knowledge that speaks to all the senses. Trip to Toulouse and its surroundings, while five direct flights between Montreal and the Occitan capital are now offered each week by Air Canada.
Along the Canal du Midi
Past the Castanet lock, about fifteen kilometers from Toulouse, capital of Occitania, the Canal du Midi cycle path enters an explosive soft green scene. A row of hundred-year-old plane trees play openly as I mill quietly along the edge of this jewel of engineering listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We have been talking about it for decades, about this canal which, connected to the Garonne, would allow the transport of tons of grain between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean while bypassing the Iberian Peninsula. It is the engineer Pierre-Paul Riquet who ends up realizing it in the XVIIe century, thanks to his personal funds and the support of Louis XIV. Completed in 1681 after only ten years, it has accumulated some 245 meters of elevation over nearly 300 kilometres.
More than a technological feat, the canal is also the most ambitious project of the “Grand Siècle”. It flows on the two maritime slopes from the threshold of Naurouze, at an altitude of 190 meters. The old towpath is now a fabulous cycle path with a flat and smooth surface, which borders a shady water path. The barges that use it now transport tourists, fond of navigation over the water. This circuit, which I finish 50 kilometers further on in Port Lauragais, leaves plenty of room for opulent nature and the wandering of thoughts. Inspired by the civil engineering behind this beautiful hydraulic structure, I began to compile some discoveries of Occitan knowledge, gleaned during my exploration in Occitania.
Pastel pink and blue bricks
On the verge of snatching the status of France’s third city from Lyon, Toulouse is starting to love its “fairground bricks” again, masked by centuries of camouflage under a white plaster that wanted to give it the air of a posh metropolis. Around the Capitol, its narrow streets thwart straightness and link curves to fight against the attacks of the fiery Autan wind. As in front of the private mansion of Assézat, named after the pastel trader who made money from the trade in pastel, extracted from the plant Isatis tinctoria.
Throughout the sixteenthe century, this natural pigment tints both the veil of the statues of the Virgin and the ceremonial clothes of the kings of France. In the same spirit, he also revolutionized the development of the city. Toulouse, “land of plenty”, owes this qualifier to the shells formed by this plant extract. In the Gers, the Bleu de Lectoure artisanal dyeing workshop perpetuates the tradition by cultivatingIsatis tinctoria and by producing this precious pigment which gives textiles all the shades of royal blue. The precious plant is also used as an ingredient in the preparation of skin care products.
A musketeer’s elixir
Château Arton is the story of a Gascon family settled in Lectoure since the XIe century. Before handing over the reins of the business to the younger generation, Victoire and Patrick de Montal left a unique mark in the art of distilling the oldest eau-de-vie in France: Armagnac.
Victoire is a Montesquiou d’Artagnan (one of whose ancestors inspired the famous hero of Alexandre Dumas!); Patrick is the heir to five centuries of Gascon aristocracy. In 1984, they launched Blanche Armagnac, a white wine distilled in the bottle and not in barrels as tradition dictates. It wasn’t until 2005 that this award-winning spirit received the Armagnac appellation (AOC). Today, the new generation is pursuing innovation in a setting that has retained all of its charm.
Lili and Patrick are starting to think about permaculture and the grape varieties best suited to the conditions of Haut Armagnac. To the Ugni Blanc and Colombard grape varieties, the couple adds a few rows of Baco, the grape variety that suits the soil as sandy as that of the Landes. The winegrowers use the technique of genodics: loudspeakers broadcast synthetic vibratory “music” in the vineyard at sunrise and sunset to help the plants develop antibodies and fight against vine diseases. .
The taste of yesteryear
Auch, the historic capital of Gascony, is famous for its statue of d’Artagnan and its Gothic cathedral which contains baroque organs, stained glass windows signed by the master glassmaker Arnaud de Moles and exceptional sculpted oak stalls.
It is nearby, in the small town of Castéra-Verduzan, that Audrey and Benoit Bourrust (a former international rugby player) raise around twenty black Gascon pigs, in the heart of rolling meadows and oak groves, at the Bidache Farm. This rare species, called black pigs from Bigorre in the Hautes-Pyrénées (AOC), gives marbled red meat with a slight nutty flavor and is also used as a staple in dishes cooked on site and sold at the farm shop. (terrines, stew, sautéed). No colorants, no preservatives; here, we strongly believe in the quality of the product and the maintenance of ancestral tradition.
Earthenware and marquetry
In the region of Comminges, Martres Tolosane describes itself as the cradle of earthenware, a technique inherited from the 18the century, known as the “great fire”, which consists of firing ceramics at a temperature of up to 1000°C. These are then dipped in an enamel bath before being fired again, to move on to the vitrification stage. Tradition favors motifs of rustic bouquets, ibises and grotesque characters, but some craftsmen dare to use very modern decorations, proof that if this art remains, it also knows how to reinvent itself. The same is true for Revel, the capital of art furniture: at the Museum of Wood and Marquetry, contemporary works by local craftsmen are exhibited, as well as one of the three copies of the famous desk of King Louis XV, chef – 18th century cabinetworke century.
Practical information
Since 1er June, a new direct connection is offered by Air Canada five times a week between Montreal and Toulouse. In Port Lauragais, cyclists and motorists will find a port stopover with exhibitions, notably on the Canal du Midi, a restaurant area and the Comptoir du Lauragais, where all the region’s artisanal products are sold. General tourist information: tourism-occitanie.com
This content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, relating to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.