I have to go to Sophia Antipolis, and then drop off an envelope in Valbonne on my way home. From my house in Plascassier this is a simple round trip of 20 minutes by car. Being temporarily without the questionable luxury of a car, I have to undertake this by public transport. Because the buses, like most public transport here, don’t run to a regular schedule, it’s not a question of knowing that there’s a bus at, say, 20 past the hour. So I try to call the bus operating company for the times. Which bus operator, Envibus, TAM, STCAR? It becomes irrelevant as the phones remain unanswered.

Much like learning French, driving in France may seem a little daunting and complicated at first. Their famous priorité à droite (priority from the right) can still be a bit baffling as can the way some town signs suddenly disappear leaving you wondering if you’re heading in the right direction or not.