Oyster Lunch

Yesterday was one of those numerous May holidays here. No idea what it was for, but a day off is a day off which is what counts.

It was my parent's last day and I was feeling relatively healthy which meant we could go to Bouzigues for an oyster lunch. I know, I know, there's no 'r' in the month, but they are cultivated 50m from the restaurants so for fresh, they are certainly fresh (as they say here).

Actually, our intended meal was moules marinières, but there were no mussels left (already!) at 12.45pm, so we had to make do with oysters... What a hardship... In fact, the boys had the last of the mussels, which they opted for instead of a 'cordon bleu' which is a slice of reconstituted chicken stuffed with cheese (which they hate) and breadcrumbed. Strange...

The oysters came lightly gratinéed, as requested and were perfectly done which means they were shown enough grill to melt the cheese but the oysters themselves were practically raw. Une délice!

Bouzigues is just 40mins from where I live, with plenty of restaurants along the lagoon shore all selling local produce. We sat outside, in the shade; the wind keeping any clouds at bay and with a beautiful sun keeping us warm. After several days of rain, including a violent thunderstorm on Friday, it was doubly enjoyable to be able to lunch thus.

On our way back to Montpellier, we stopped off at the terminus for the tram, line 2, at St Jean de Vedas, and took a ride to the St Roch station in town, then got off and came back again. The new tram is decorated with bright flowers as opposed to the white birds on blue backgrounds on line 1. Line 2 took us into parts of south Montpellier I had not known, and continues on up to Jacou.

When we rejoined the car, we noticed a couple in the next car who had obviously made the same return fun trip. What else to do on a sunny bank holiday?