The beach at Valras-Plage.





The Viaduc de Millau



We have just spent the last few days at the beach. We made a quick booking via the internet for a hotel at Valras-Plage, near Beziers and headed down the autoroute, over the viaduct de Millau and on to the sea. We've been promising ourselves a swim or two in the Mediterranean for over a year and now at last we've made it. The sea was beautiful and warm, 21 degrees C when we there, and seemed very clean.

The beach at Valras is huge, about 3km in length and once the sun is up the sand is burning hot, so flip-flops or sandals are a must. It does make drying off after a swim quick, though. Ater only a very few days of sun, sand and restaurent meals, we are now back in the only slightly cooler greenery of the Cantal. We drove back across country,following the valley of the Lot for part of the way, which was deliciously cool and inviting.
While we were there, the small blue roofed hut opened up for business - it was a library. Details of it can be found here. I wonder if any British libraries do the same sort of thing?