So just to write a bit about general progress and goings on in France – I can’t fill my blog up completely with day trips to pretty places, I promise that’s not all I do!

After all my bragging about the sunshine awaiting for me in France, it turns out that Montpellier can actually get pretty chilly at times, especially in the evening! I wasn’t expecting to have to bring the hats and the gloves out; it’s the south of France, right? It does feel quite weird walking along all dressed up warmly to brace the cold whilst seeing palm trees everywhere – something just doesn’t add up there.  The daytime does often bring some pretty good sunshine; I even managed to get a little bit of colour the other day just by sitting under the sun for an hour or so. Not bad going! Saying that, at the moment the temperatures have gone right down to what feels like Antarctic levels – it even snowed on Tuesday,  not what I was expecting to see! Monty, I didn’t sign up for this.

In and amongst all the fun and games, there are inevitably times when things are stressful and can drive you round the bend. Ask anyone here and they’ll instantly tell you that one of the most annoying things about France is, yes, its crazy sense of bureaucracy and endless administration. Every time you think you’ve got all the admin sorted, another document pops up demanding to be filled in, sent, returned to be completed again, then signed by someone else, until finally it is done. I really wish I was joking. It never stops!

Something else that never ceases to amaze me is the increasing number of cases where services, shops, tourist attractions and all manner of things that involve people will be closed between the hours of 12 and 2, because clearly it is some sort of national crime to do anything other than eat and drink during these 2 hours. Truly brilliant when you have nothing you need to do, as it’s the perfect excuse to do absolutely nothing and, in most cases, enjoy the sunshine. On the other hand, it’s incredibly frustrating when there’s something you have to get done, someone you need to see or an attraction you want to visit. Lesson learnt: just go for lunch instead.