visiting aire-sur-l’adour on the river adour
The Pyrénées are not far away. They are the goal. The days pass routinely. There is a rhythm. Almost a month has passed, and each day, while not the same, is the same. I am experienced.
I learn at the end of the day in Aire-sur-l’Adour that I have walked from Nogaro on a lot of pavement.
DAY 28 de Nogaro à Aire-sur-l’Adour (peut-être 21km) sur Le Chemin de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle.
But, it is not all pavement and there is much to see along the way which is countryside. No matter how small the town, whether in France or the United States or elsewhere, I look forward to the silence of the countryside.
Aire-sur-l’Adour is a fairly large town on the Chemin. It has approximately 6200 citizens and has its own SNCF station for buses. It is busy and a contrast to that quiet, which I cherished, in the pastoral scenery coming from Nogaro.
The town has two parts, the lower, older section and an “up town” which is newer and more wealthy. (Click on any photo to see it larger and in more detail.)
One learns quickly that from the start of the Chemin at Puy-en-Velay to its end, the Chemin passes through a lot of farm and pasture land and across a lot of hard pavement. The original route had been broken up over time, and later some enterprising committees and businesses put the route back together again, as best as they could. (Click on any photo to see it larger and in more detail.)
I do love to eat. After having walked most of the morning and part of the afternoon, I welcomed a hearty meal with wine and–cross my fingers–dessert. The restaurant featured in the pictures above was very popular. It filled quickly. I was one of the first to be seated, and soon afterward the lunch crowd arrived and free table was available. (Click on any photo to see it larger and in more detail.)
I learned that the chef, a young woman, is the owner of Bistrot des Arcades and she makes her menus with local ingredients, avec le terroir dans votre assiette.
I stayed the night at the Hôtel Le Relais de Landes.
un Voyageur 