Gascony and Agenng

I technically live in the department of Lot-et-Garonne (the names of the two rivers) which is the old region called Aquitaine but I am right on the northern edge of...you guessed it Gascony.  Aquitaine has its own list of cool places and people; Eleanor of Aquitaine (cough she started chivalry), Bordeaux, lots of ducks, the town that was used as the basis for Beauty and the Beast but this is a post dedicated to the ancient wild beautiful region called Gascony. Who do you know from Gascony?  Uh I don't know a certain man called 'd'artagnan'.  Just kinda a big deal, not only because he is made fun of for being a gascon but also because try as he would he was very gascon.  

Yes they speak with a cute twang, adding a -g- to the ends of words and yes they are friendly and different from other French from different regions.  Like the south east this region spoke a language called Occitan long before it spoke 'proper french' making it sound much like Catalan but not quite the same.  Occitan was the language of the troubadours who traveled around in the south singing all that jazz.  I will tell you the west side of France is harder to travel to than the east side of France and the south west even a little bit more so.  This little hidden gem of France also called the French Tuscany has been hidden away and has kept much of its old timing traditions like the accent and some old timers that speak Occitan.  Just a brief introduction to Occitan,more about these regions to come...

"Tant ai al cor d'amor.                (French) Tant j'ai au cœur d'amour      When my heart's so full of love

De joi e de doussor                     De joie et de douceur                         Full of joy and warmth

Per quel gels me sembla flor       Que la glace me semble fleur             The ice seems to be like flowers

E la neu verdura"                          Et la neige verdure                            And the snow but lush greenery

The accent reminds me of someone from Tennessee and Agen looks a bit like Tennessee as well.   

My home based or the next few months, Agen is directly in the middle of the route between Bordeaux and Toulouse.  (There is a big rivalry here as to which is better).  It's the big city of a little backwater hidden gem of a department.  It has shopping streets and a nice train station, good weather, nearby hiking, super nice helpful people, and buses and markets, oh and did I mention it's inexpensive?  

They say that two things matter in Agen prunes and rugby.  Agen is the prune/plum capital of the world. I have neither eaten prunes or even watched a rugby match.  It's known for the canal bridge of the famous canal du midi that passes by from Bordeaux to the Mediterranean. It has a population of about 30,000    

The 'kids' I'm teaching are pretty nice, but as high schoolers I now have to up the game with more difficult things to do.  With my bike (thanks Elizabeth!) I'm zooming around town and with my 30liter backpack, I had the handles rip out of my grocery bag walking home a couple of week sur ago, I can do most of my grocery shopping that way.