Addicted

I've become addicted to hot chocolate, especially on cool mornings in the autumn or spring when we can sit at a sidewalk café (four to choose from) in the sud de France village of Argèles-sur-mer.

It usually comes out steaming, so while it cools enough to sip we can people-watch. The best location for that is Mille et Une at the corner of Republique and Liberation. Locals, tourists, schoolchildren, retirees, dogs all amble by - and amble is the style for this laid-back corner of Europe; almost no one is in a hurry. They're headed for the green grocer, a bakery, a butcher, the paella popup stand, or perhaps the pharmacy. And, like us, they've pretty much got all day.

Sherlock's favorite spot is the café behind L'Hostalet hotel on the Place de la Republique public square fronting the music school (former town hall). Either sitting on my lap or stretched on the ground, he diligently stares at the cat door in the side of the building, hoping for a feline to emerge.

There's less people-watching there but in different seasons it's more likely we'll encounter one or more of our anglo-speaking friends: Brits, Danes, Germans, Canadians, a very occasional American. On marché days, especially Saturdays, we're lucky to find a table.

Other good people-watching spots are L'Aurea B (the former La Noisette) opposite the church steps (Cedric gives Sherlock sausage bits) and Bronzette, which used to be La Fontaine before the town ripped out the old fountain.

The best hot chocolate, no longer available, was served with hot milk and dark chocolate powder, which I could mix myself as strong as I cared to. Second choice would be the dark chocolate lollipop which would melt into the steaming milk; that was at a boulangerie/café in our Swiss village which, alas, closed around Christmas. (I still have one lollipop I've been saving but cannot bear to use it.) The Martel café in Manor in Vesenaz, Switzerland, used to offer 'house' hot chocolate but has discontinued, defaulting to powder. I don't object to Caotina powder, so long as it's noir not lait-based.

I've ordered 'chocolate chaud' so regularly, some of the hostesses confirm my order before I even speak it. And if they have a chocolate muffin, all the better.