Agen and it’s place in the history of the Rugby World Cup.

Wednesday 13th September 2023. Agen.

I’ve had a day at leisure in Agen….the prune capital of the world! I had a bit of a lie in and then went out for a bike ride loosener! Just 20km on my bike in the local area.

What lovely day it was.

On the way back I saw Glen the plumber again and cycled back into Agen with him. I left him to go and find lunch. I will probably catch up with him again tomorrow as I ride towards Toulouse.

I quickly ticked off two of the objectives I set myself yesterday. In Agen market I bought some prunes and some duck. In France, prunes are plums and pruneaux are what we call prunes!

The man on the stall was keen to tell me that he won the veterans cycle race from Paris to Nantes this year and he showed me the photos to prove it! The prunes were really ‘plumptious’ but I rationed myself to two and saved the rest for another day, for reasons I won’t go into on my blog.

I also bought some lovely duck for my evening meal. I can officially by wrinkly and quackers!

Shortly after, I got on with my sight seeing around the city.

The Cathedral looks fairly plain on the outside but….
The insides were superb.
There are little pockets of very old houses and buildings and the main square and pedestrian shopping streets are very pleasant.

I visited the Musee de Beaux Arts which included a mix of archeology and fine art. It was certainly worth the visit. It’s quite helpful to attempt to read the information in French. My French vocabulary is improving….at least until I go home again and forget it again.

I went to a boulangerie for lunch and sat outside to eat. A French chap sat next to me and spoke in English to me….he had heard my poor attempt to order food in French and knew I was English! He owned some restaurants in Pau and was training staff in Agen for a new venture here! Nice man.

My next visit was a church…

I went to an old Dominican Church that was now used as exhibition space. It was currently an exhibition on the Rugby World Cup.

I really enjoyed the information….in French again! Agen has been a strong rugby team in the past. It has a string of famous players including Phillipe Sella who is the most capped French international. However, more important is Albert Ferrase who played for Marmande (where I visited yesterday) and Agen. He became the President of French Rugby and was the prime instigator of the first Rugby World Cup in 1987. France were beaten in the final that year by New Zealand but Serge Blanco scored the try of the tournament in the dying seconds of the semi-final against Australia by running the whole length of the pitch to score the winning try. A great early rugby memory for me.

I spent the rest of the day people watching and then returned to make my meal….

Canette de marine (marinaded duck) with a Roquefort cheese salad, coleslaw and tomatoes. Scrummy.

I have had a great day of Pootling, cycling, sightseeing, history of rugby and food….can’t be beaten! Perhaps I can try to beat it again tomorrow?

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