This trip to Europe is anchored around a gastronomic tour of Gascony, in the Southwest of France east and south of Bordeaux. The tour was designed by Ariane Daguin, founder of D’Artagnan, “the leading purveyor of foie gras, game meat, organic poultry, pâtés, sausages and smoked delicacies” in the U.S. Ariane was born in Auch, which would be the base of our week-long tour, and she is a proud promoter of the gastronomy of Gascony (of which Auch is the capital).

The tour was organized by Véronique Banzet, owner of VéroniqueTravel. Véronique has been working with Ariane, organizing gastronomic tours of Gascony since 2017. She kicked off our tour with a visit to the Marché Victor Hugo, operating since 1896 and now the oldest covered market in France.

After walking around the market, we went across the street for lunch at Le J’Go, where we met Ariane.

There were only three couples on this tour, including Pat and me, and we met the one couple who did not join us last night for dinner. Roger, a retired chef with Quebecois roots (like me), was here with his wife Cathy. Roger once worked with Ariane’s father (briefly), when Chef Daguin was in the U.S. promoting the food of Gascony. The other couple, Sargina and Mark, are from Oakland, CA.

While we were waiting for our food, Ariane ordered a round of Pousse Rapière, the signature cocktail of Gascony, made from liquor of Armagnac, flavored with orange, and sparkling wine made from the same grapes as Armagnac (most commonly Ugni Blanc). Good and refreshing.

Lunch at Le J’Go was the first of what would be many delicious meals on this tour: A tomato tartare, pork with a cèpe & garlic cream sauce, and pomme Anna, a cake of very thinly-sliced potatoes cooked in a mold. (See the header photo for this entry.) Profiterole for dessert, followed by a 40-year-old Armagnac digestif.

After lunch, our bus was ready to take us to Auch, about an hour away. We would be staying for the week at the Hotel de France, in the center of Auch. In the 1920s, Ariane’s grandparents took ownership of the hotel. It was passed down to her parents, and that is where she grew up.

After settling in, we visited a contemporary art exhibit a short walk from the hotel. Then it was time for dinner at the hotel. For me: Nem, a fried pork spring roll, and Daurade (a white fish). It was delicious.