Over the next three months I meandered back and forth through the country, testing for myself every facet of French chic: not least their legendary cuisine. "It's almost impossible to eat a bad meal in France", or so everyone had assured me: and while in reality it proved as easy to dine poorly as it is at home (one particular meal at the Cross of Jerusalem Pizza House in Lourdes I still recall as being beyond the help of even divine intervention), none the less, with a little time and care, I soon realised you could indeed eat like a king.