We definitely haven't seen any abandoned car accidents!

That's interesting. Apples are big in our area. I've never heard mention of birds pecking the apples. Perhaps there are different species of birds around here? I agree, that's the only reason I can think of for covering apples.

It's not just this or a few places that lack A/C. That's long been the tradition in southern France, and in England. They're gradually being added in response to global warming, but it takes time. When we were here in 2003 at the same time of year to see the lavender in bloom there was a historic heat wave that resulted in many excess deaths. We spent one night in Provence sleeping with our mattress hauled out on the balcony because it was unbearable inside.

Generally they just head on and crash and the folks walk or bike home. Most of them keep a bike in the boot for just such an event. You often see two abandoned cars just nosed up against each other, until a tow truck comes along every few months and hauls them off. I'm surprised you haven't noticed.

They peck them and greatly reduce their value.

Lack of ice, and now lack of air conditioning. I don't think I'll be journeying to these strange, distant lands.

Nice that someone tipped you off about the ferry closure! It was closed the last time we were there too, which was a disappointment. The bull 'fighting' is a feature of the region, but much different than Spain - we saw similar celebrations beneath the walls of Arles and in Saint-Remy the last time we were there.

Wow, you're there! I can't believe you're over halfway through France already. Enjoy the flats, here come the Alps!

Agreed! You know you’re in a tourist town when you see one of these.

Usually we are hungry cyclists and finish our food. Besides this time, we have gotten take away food (the term that seems recognized here) maybe twice. A big reason for not purposefully having some leftovers is that there’s seldom a fridge to store them in. Most places have a decent included breakfast, which makes left overs less necessary.

Interesting note is that Italy does have breakfasts, but not included.

The food has been excellent here, as an overall statement. There’s a lot of duck on the menu and never chicken. Odd to us.

Do they not do to-go boxes in France? Or other ways of taking leftovers home?

The hike a bike incident is still fresh in my mind. Down here I'm suspicious of the non paved roads actually being sand. I loved your photos when you took the levee route, but I sure didn't feel envious about the sandy bits!

A trussed flamingo, most likely.

You find the stew all through the Camargue region. The Taureau is the iconic Camargue black bull. Also worth looking for are the white horses and of course the flamingos. You should be able to see all these on the way to Saintes Marie and on up towards Arles. There are many lovely back roads you can take instead of the larger through roads. Since the whole area is flat (It is the Rhone Delta) any way you choose is easy riding.

I can narrow it down to family Pieridae (whites and sulfurs)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieridae