Waters and Wines of Aquitaine
Waters and Wines of Aquitaine. The Barge
Waters and Wines of Aquitaine. Serignac-sur-Garonne
Waters and Wines of Aquitaine. Buzet
Waters and Wines of Aquitaine. Baise River
Waters and Wines of Aquitaine. Nerac
Waters and Wines of Aquitaine. Vianne
In Agen, the first and last point of our barge travel, we arrived just in the middle of the day, and we had time to explore the town.
I should say, that the heatwave continued its presence in Aquitaine, so my memory about the time in Agen is very dim. Only water-sprayers on central streets had been helped me to survive. I hugged every one of them until I became completely soaked, after this, it was possible to move to the next one.
Cold beer also worked.
Ideally was to sit under such water-sprayer and drink cold beer. It gave me short feeling that I am a human being and not a toad in the middle of the sun. Unfortunately, it was difficult to walk around the town with a beer in one hand and a sprayer in another, so I should leave them from time to time.
Agen is the relatively small, but pretty old town, it mentioned in the notes of Julius Caesar.
The town frequently passed from French to English hands and back. Agen was given to Margaret of Valois as a corbeille to her marriage with Henry IV and since this time never leaves France.
Streets
Habitants
The Fine Arts Museum (Musée des Beaux-Arts) locates in a complex of four historic mansions. The museum is huge and has everything, from the collections of mineral and prehistoric animals to big painting collection (including Goya, Tintoretto, Alfred Sisley, and others). For me, the best was the mineral collection, it locates in the cellar, and it was cool place.
Still pots
The cabbage on the chicken legs.
Personal devil integrated into the armchair.
Among all the painting this fish impressed me most. It is demonstrated together with the model. The painting was made at the beginning of the XVII century.
I also like the usage of dry prickly flowers instead of sighs DO NOT TOUCH and DO NOT SIT. Elegant and clear.
There are several old churches in the town.
I like Agen, however, for more close acquaintance I will prefer more cool weather.
It was our last night on the barge. We said good buy to our float home and left to Bordeaux.
This is the end of our travel on the barge, but not the end of our travel in Aquitane.
To be continued…
