Our Pau hosts Pierre and Philippe took us on a gastronomical tour of the region today. We started at the Cave de Jurancon wine distributor, where we learned about their cooperative strategies of wine making. This company works with many local vineyards to produce their products, this ensures the growers can focus on their agriculture while the front office handles storage, bottling, marketing, and sales.
Of course we also got to sample their wares! Just down the road we stopped for a fromage (cheese) tasting, where several varieties of sharp French cheeses were sampled. 
Every time we turned our backs our hosts bought us local products, and by the time we left the fromagerie we were laden with cheese and wine. We had expressed an interest in local cuisine, so for lunch Pierre and Philippe took us to a wonderful local restaurant where we tried Gourmande, a soupe made of local ham, cabbage, potatoes, and white beans. We enjoyed the rustic meal, and ate way too much! The region we are staying in is called Bayonne, and they are renown for their hams, so our next stop was the ham museum. We learned the local variety started when one of their nobles shot and wounded a wild boar, which then ran and died in a salt bog. When found some time later, it was perfectly preserved and delicious, and thus their particular curing process was born. We toured the museum, which covered everything from ancient pigs in mythology, to the three little pigs. As you may have guessed, the tour ended with a sampling.
The evening ended with a beautiful walkikng tour of Pau, where we took in all the wonderful architecture and history. We were treated to another regional meal which was fantastic, before waddling back to our hotel.
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