As in the UK, most of the shops in France have been selling things ready for return to school this week. In France they don’t concentrate too much on clothing, as most children here do not to wear school uniforms. The shelves are mainly stacked with stationary, pencils cases and a range of satchels. At the end of the term in July, all students were provided with a list if things that they must buy for the next school year. These include varieties of file paper, stationary, mathematical equipment, calculators and even textbooks. During the holiday the aisles have been full of adults and children, lists in hand, buying essentials for the coming term.
Not only is it La Rentrée for the students but for French life generally. The papers are full of adverts to encourage memberships at gyms in order to begin a keep-fit regime or reminding people that it is time to get things serviced such as boilers and central heating ready for the winter. We even had a phone call from our chimney sweep organizing a time to visit.
Another sign (or sound) that the summer is coming to a close is being woken up in the early hours by tractors and wine harvesting machinery going along the road. I believe that the Chardonnay grapes are collected before the sun gets on them so that the quality isn’t spoilt. They are also picking other varieties as I can hear the apparatus which checks each tractor load of grapes for its strength. It won’t be long before the smell of the crushed grapes permeates the village. I am looking forward to sampling this year’s wine next month!
The sun was shining and the holiday traffic had decreased, so we decided to head to the Med for lunch. The restaurants in Bouzigues, near Sète had been highly recommended on one of the forums we read, so we headed there. Peter was right. There were plenty of good places to eat. We sat down to eat at Chez Julie just after 12:00 and by 12:30 they were turning people away. 
There was a good selection on the menu, I am just sorry that I don’t fancy the idea of oysters as they look so dramatic. After a lovely lunch sitting in the warm autumn sunshine, we wandered on to Mèze and walked along the étang.
