On the 90-minute car journey west towards Montpellier, along the extensive and well-maintained motorway network, the wind drops and the landscape reveals its parched beauty. The air conditioning is turned up a notch or two: this may be France during a generally ropey summer but the climate here remains defiantly Mediterranean.
There is another pleasant surprise at the toll booth. The attendant is friendly and attentive, much more so than I imagine his British counterpart would be were toll booths a widespread fixture of UK motoring.
