GK Tours. Day 10 Wednesday 13th November
Cadillac sur Garonne to Montfort via Pau
We had a nice lazy start this morning, I took Meg for a walk around the village and Gareth gave the van a good sweep.
Pau was our next destination, it’s quite big but lacks any good places to stop close to the centre.
Heading due south, we had to take off our jumpers as it was really warm in the van with the sun beaming through the windscreen.
It can get really confusing knowing exactly where you are from all of the signs you pass. There are regions, departments and boroughs to get your head around and sometimes you can go through multiple changes in a day 
.
Today we saw signs for Armagnac 
. We had heard of it, thought it was a fortified wine but didn’t know what the difference was between it and Cognac.
Well there is quite a lot actually. They are both made from grapes but we had never heard of the grapes used for Armagnac. Also it’s made by small producers whereas cognac is made by big house names and obviously there are differences on how it’s produced.
Armagnac is distilled once in tall stills and Cognac distilled twice in short round stills.
Interesting, if we get a chance we’ll see if we can taste some 
.
Coming into Pau, the first place we looked at to stay wasn’t really suitable so we moved towards town to a scruffy car park along the river back. There was another van there so we felt quite confident to leave the van.
Part of the river is designated for kayak racing, there are the poles hanging for the paddler to aim for – not sure if they are called gates? On our way back from town we saw some guys practicing on them.
Pau is very hilly, there is a furnicular railway taking you from the base of the chateau and old town walls up to chateau level 
. We weren’t at that end of the town so walked up . We intentionally ignored the No Dogs signs and entered the grounds of the chateau but were told by an attendant that dogs were not permitted , so left by the nearest exit, which, conveniently was on town level 
. The Chateau looks lovely and is huge, there are lots of turreted buildings in close proximity on the hillside so it’s hard to define them.
Pau has potential to be beautiful, a fab location with views over the river and to the Pyrenees but just feels a little unloved. There are obviously some gorgeous buildings but some that could also be gorgeous with a little bit of tlc.
There is a square, very modern, reminded me of an out of town shopping village with fountains in the centre and cafes around the edges. What was missing was classic french architecture. Now, we most probably just didn’t find what we were looking for, so don’t let us put you off. If you like a good mix of new and old then Pau could be a good destination for you.
We stopped at a little cafe down a cobbled lane, and were treated very well by the couple running it, even Meg was offered water and a treat.
Yes, there were some wows, but not as many as we expected.
Anyway, we had to get going as our chosen night stop was about an hour away
We’re in a little place just outside a village called Montfort in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques department, in-between Pau and Biarritz.
We arrived just as the light was going but Gareth did manage a walk with Meg along the banks of the Gave d’Oloron river, right by the parking area .
Interestingly, he took a pic of hundreds of white birds roosting on one tree!
Will have a better look myself tomorrow before we leave.
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