Yesterday I tested my legs with a 15 K walk from here (La Neyliere) through the town of Saint Symphorien-sur-Coise and up the other side to the Chapelle of La Salette.

There is a photo attached; then a light lunch at the only cafe in the village. On my return journey I photographed cows sleeping lying totally flat out, something I have never seen in Australia. And then a squash trying to escape through a chicken wire fence. (See photos of both.)

As I passed through town I purchased a tube of toothpaste at a pharmacy and once again was confounded by language. As usual before going to bed I prepared to brush my teeth. The tube was a little different with a small aperture, what I thought was an economical paste saver; applied it liberally to my brush and brushed away but not for long. I realised something…..not only was there no sweet tasting paste, but on the contrary a gritty sticky unpleasant taste, yes it was too late, it was not toothpaste but, as it says in small print on the tube: "crepe adhesive premium pour prostheses Dentares" it's also written in German and Russian, not in English but made in the UK. Fortunately, I had my mouth open so my mouth was not stuck shut but even so, for the next half hour I struggled with great difficulty to remove it from my teeth all the while knowing that it was made to stick!

I think it's time to come home.

Two other anecdotes but without photos:

On my way to La Neyliere I boarded a train at Bayonne, destined for Toulouse where I had to change again for Lyon. While waiting for the train to depart I noticed a sixtyish man, somewhat dishevelled in baggy shorts, a crumpled shirt, sandals, and carrying a back pack on the platform. Not long after and just before the train departed he appeared in the same carriage, plonked his bag on the seat and sat down by the window, I was sitting at the opposite window separated by the aisle- he had sunnies and earphones in place so we did not engage.

Sometime later the train stopped at Lourdes.

A group of American pilgrims were on their way home after their visit to the place of Mary's apparitions. The carriage was rather packed so one of the group, still telling her rosary, sat alongside the bloke opposite. Some twenty minutes they began a conversation- yes you guessed it the lad was from down under - confirmed by his broad accent. At one point during the conversation he was telling the lady he had been travelling around southern France to places like Cannes and Nice- where? The lady asked on the last name- he replied, "you know Nice- spelt NICE as in - it's a nice day." The conversation faded soon after as he went back to his earphones and she to her rosary. Sometime later "cobber" excused himself, took his backpack and got off the train.

Immediately one of the pilgrims joined the lady opposite who immediately informed her friend that the fellow was an Australian, her friend without a hint of irony or satire asked if he could speak English. "Yes", she replied. To which her friend answered "Well I didn't know they spoke English there"

Perhaps there is job for Mr Dutton over in the US but before he goes he might have to take the English Test.

And speaking of language, Euphemisms are an integral part of English. One which came to my mind recently was "to spend a penny." It's perhaps somewhat anachronistic and may not be known to the younger reader of this blog, but it was used to excuse oneself to go to the toilet, as in… "excuse me I have to spend a penny".

Actually, there was a time when it did cost a penny to use a public toilet.

Well the French have taken this concept to a new level. When passing through Lyons on my way to La Neyliere I needed to do some shopping and visited the glass and chrome palace of a Westfield equivalent just near the station.

Well I needed to spend a penny and after some difficulty was directed downstairs to the basement.

Well what a revelation! For a moment I thought it was the Metro Station. There was a bank of pay machines where one was required to purchase a 50 cent ticket (half a euro or about 75 Aus cents) with which one could then pass through the electronic turnstile. What if you are caught short and have no cash? Well the French think of everything. You can pay with your credit card. Can you imagine what will be printed on your monthly statement? Talk about 1984 and Big Brother! You will even be pinged responding to the call of nature- another one of those euphemisms. Having negotiated successful entry, I was startled to see a woman washing her hands- I do know the difference between Femmes and Hommes as prominently displayed at the entrance. She reacted to my startled look by indicating all was well and that because of the queue waiting where she should have been, she simply shrugged her shoulders puffed out her cheeks, as if to say that's life and said au revoir.

And that's what I should say too.

Warm regards

Jim