Travel Book's to Inspire You 

Here's a selection of colorful books that will help you dive further into the regions and parts of the world that I have written about:

The Languedoc: South west France

Virgil's Vineyard: Having decided to take a year's sabbatical from his legal career, Patrick Moon befriends Virgile, a young local wine-maker who offers to initiate Patrick into the mysteries of each season's work in the fields and in the cellar. Virgile is passionately committed to perfection, though he operates on a shoestring. At the other extreme is Manu, Patrick's dipsomaniac neighbour, a diehard traditionalist producing a private wine-lake of unspeakable rouge. With Manu as his self-appointed guide, Patrick embarks on a tour of the Languedoc region's wine makers.

 Arrazat's Aubergines: Patrick Moon is back but this time he has left his London legal career and moved permanently to Languedoc, where this time he is an apprentice to Laurent Arrazat, a renowned chef and new restaurateur. This book starts out as a look at the inner workings of a first-class restaurant in the French countryside, and then goes onto tell readers much more about the author's progress in restoring his home, cultivating his land and discovering local foods. Moon recounts many day trips discovering histories of Languedoc foodstuffs: Labiel fish, Perrier water, Roquefort cheese and fleur de sel salt. He shares comic insights into his rural neighbors' quirks, likes and dislikes. A teat for francophiles!

Hot Sun, Cool Shadow: Savoring the Food, History, and Mystery of the Languedoc - the story of one couple's discovery of the Languedoc. More than a decade ago, Angela Murrills and husband Peter Matthews began their love affair with the Languedoc. One of Europe’s oldest and most historic regions, it is rich with wonders including wild white horses, Roman ruins, and Carcassonne, Europe’s greatest fortified town. What really drew them to this area, however, was the locals’ love of food and wine. As their dream of owning a French home intensified, they began to discover another way of living—a slower one based on gastronomic pleasure and the really important things in life: hunting for mushrooms, morning trips to the bakery and heated debates about the best way to make cassoulet.