THIS IS SO LANGUEDOC! or how I learnt to love Le third exit on the roundabout. 

Guaranteed to raise a laugh, our Aussie GPS Raylene provides directions in strine ~ Roo doo boulevard anyone?

Clunk, clunk, clunk, clunk!.  Our luggage ran rampant through sortie le gare Beziers where Camilla and Paulette welcomed us with the regulated three kisses.  I will have to adapt my degree of passion when we reached Paris where two cheeks are de rigeur.  Should we revert to rural practices, I'm trusting haughty Parisians will acknowledge we have been on our summer hols.

Nothing else is guaranteed to elicit favourable comment in France as to be accompanied by a retinue of attractive femmes. The regulars at Le Bar Marine, our local in Marseillan, peer approvingly through clouds of cigarette smoke each afternoon as we assume the position at our outside table. "Bon soir, deux rose et deux pastis, s'il vous plait!

Les Halles du Agde. Fresh Ripe peaches and tomatos. Lunch on the banks of the Canal du Midi at XXXXXX x   Flourishing tubs of pink and white oleanders line every walkway and compete aggressively with mature olive trees for dominance.  Multicoloured planter boxes at waist height prettily grace towns and villages throughout the Langedoc.

I can't get enough of the Midi coquillages Assiettes De Coquillages.

Pates, Salamis and anchovies wrapped about immature olives.

Our morning trip to Saturday's markets in Pezenas was punctuated by a contra temps at the parking pay station "Prenez vote ticket ici" ~ where Aussie drivers met Gallic officialdom. The resulting fee of €2 for four hours was a bargain.  Despite the seemingly desolate location of the parking lot, we were soon immersing ourselves in the hoardes seeking a bargain in consumerables:shoes, chapeaus, faux jewellery, tablecloths and linen shifts.

Our return trip was intricate as Raylene decided the shortest route was required.  It featured way too many tight turns past encroaching culverts and grape vines to every horizon. It appeared the stress was too much for another driver who had pulled over for a pissoir naturallisimo. Chauffeur par excellence Camilla dropped us off just near Le Marine Bar where we agreed to meet in four hours hence.