France has issued many stamps on food (not foodstamps!) on her own gastronomy for quite some time.
A new series will be issued on April 25th and wil be printed in the form of mini-sheets dedicated to a particular region with stamps, pics and explanations.
With the twenty-first of these sheets I’d like to introduce is Pyrenees.

The Pyrenees is the area bordering the mountains separating France from Spain. My own mother came from the Gers near Auch.
In this particular case we talk about the area stretching from the south of the Central mountains to the Basque shores.
A rugged land with rugeed people, it is the land of rugby players.
No wonder people have some of the biggest appetites in France!

This sheet shows an interesting specialty: Gateau a la Broche, a soft cake cooked around a spit over a hot fire. Only takes a few hours to make!
Cheese, especially ewe cheese has to be tasted. In Basque country, they serve it in thin slices with cherry jam!
There are many succulent almost wines to be discovered along with foie gras.
Chocolate was first introduced to France by Basque sailors as well as chili peppers which are presently known as Espellettes.
Cassoulet is another specialty for big appetites. It takes at least four hours to cook the beans with tomatoes and pork (or duck, or goose)!

It is also the land of the Cathares which were wiped out during the Albigeois Crusade. Innumerable castles are still there to be seen along the mountains. Artists will be interested to know that Toulouse-Lautrec was born in Albi, not far from Toulouse!

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