The Gers countryside rolls attractively, when seen from a car. On foot the hills seem steeper and it took two hours to walk to Lectoure.
Situated on top of a hill there are splendid views. The town was crowded with local shoppers coming to the weekly market and a bus load of tourists. The tower of the 12th century cathedral can be seen from miles away and makes Lectoure easy to find on the horizon. There is a place with a bandstand in its centre and a gritty surface for playing boules. Also on the place is a statue of Lectoure’s most famous son. He was born into a farming family in this modest house in 1769.
He was apprenticed to a dyer nearby, was popular at school, because he was good at sport, and this led to him being elected sergeant-major in a volunteer battalion raised to fight in the war against Spain for three years, starting in 1792.
He came to the attention of Napoleon and fought with great distinction in Italy, Spain, Egypt and Austria. He was created a Marshal of France, Prince of Siewierz and Duke of Montebello. His dukedom was bestowed in honour of the crucial part he played in Lombardy at the Battle of Montebello against Austria in 1800.
His military successes made him one of Napoleon’s favourite marshals and they were on “tu” terms, so it grieved the emperor when he was wounded in Austria in 1809. An attempt to save his life by amputating his legs was unsuccessful and he died eight days later. He is buried at the Panthéon in Paris.
His name is Jean Lannes and here he is in his home town with the cathedral bell tower behind him.
But that’s enough history. Let’s drive to Castéra-Verduzan for lunch at Le Florida. Externally it has not changed much since this picture was taken.
As the weather is warm everyone eats outside either under a spreading chestnut or shaded by big umbrellas. The terrace looks unprepossessing.
The service is impeccable: confident, friendly, professional and charming. The wine list concentrates on local, Gascon, wines. The menu is nothing like as simple as my photo of the terrace might suggest.
It is serious cooking and after lunch the chef came to every table to be buttered-up, if that’s how you flatter a chef. He deserved it and formidable was the mot juste. The village has a casino, a spa and nearby is bull fighting – so it ticks a lot of boxes. It also has this wrought iron sign.
When I was briefly at the University of Aix en Provence ( in 1962) a friend of mine lodged with Madame Lannes who was known to be very distinguished – because she was the granddaughter in law ( or great grand daughter, perhaps) of the Marshal of France.Her apartment was stuffed with heroic pictures of a military nature.
What a fantastic menu! I particularly liked the doubly surprising ratatouille.
I remember some years ago in the bar mess at Inner London Crown Court there was a dish advertised as “Crab surprise”. The surprise was that the dish contained not an iota of crab.