Hot. Hot. Oh, and occasionally scorching – not just here in France but globally. Getting fresh strawberries home, only to arrive with them already wilted and breaking down. We have an air conditioner we bought two or three summers ago but we refrain from using it until it’s miserable. The apartment has windows front and back, so we get a great breeze. As the sun moves, curtains get closed and as the temperature rises above our inside temperature, then the windows get closed, to preserve the coolness. Southwestern France recorded a record-breaking 109° and they believe that Paris will experience 104° during the top of the summer. Next move for us: the Netherlands. If I thought French was hard to learn, I’ll be in for a royal shock there. I’m pretty sure that would be completely beyond my bandwidth. But then they recorded 104° so now I’m thinking maybe the Northwest Passages?
The first weekend, we took a train to Rennes and checked into a Best Western. It was the only thing available on short notice and with the tourist season underway. But we were surprised once we arrived that it was much better than the US branches, which have a specific rather unpleasant hotel smell to them. We also barely got train tickets, having to take 2nd class, top double decker seats. You really don’t want those in the summers because there’s no AC and it gets really hot and sticky. But we got a late call from a high school buddy of G’s, who was near Rennes for his daughter’s wedding. By the time he could confirm a date to meet, available train seats and hotel rooms were scarce.
It was a fully packed train and as expected, very hot. Economy seats have less leg room and we felt it. It was the worst weekend to do this at the last minute, which is why we had a tough time getting seats. It’s the first weekend all the students are out and so families are traveling, plus it’s the big France annual summer weekend sales event. All are the harbingers of the start of summer for everyone. I’m even including a picture here that I took, to illustrate that bad behavior doesn’t only happen in airplanes. It was a very long 3 hours.
We got into Rennes at 11:30am and his friend, B, got in at noon. We went near the station for lunch – they hadn’t seen each other in 50 years but they talked like they had always been in touch. I guess that’s what happens when you dorm with someone for 4 years. He is a nice, pleasant fellow who told a large number of good stories. It is his stepdaughter who lives in France who was getting married. We didn’t get to meet his wife because she was heavily involved in the mechanics of it since it was taking place in a few days. After lunch, I returned to the hotel just to give them a few hours alone to chit chat before he had to catch his 5pm return train. We stayed overnight and were back on the train by noon again, which was regretful as we didn’t see the main plaza or really get a feel for the town. Hence no photos, sorry.
Speaking of the Summer sales events, we decided to take advantage of it ourselves by looking for a new living room couch. The couch we bought when we arrived in Lille, although having everything we wanted, was poorly made and lost any comfort in the first year. A new shop of furnishings that opened last month around the corner, had couches which looked promising. We did find a very comfortable replacement, that we’ll show you next month, with better quality cushions and chose not to get a sleeper sofa this time. After having a slew of guests, we discovered that the apartment doesn’t really fit four additional visitors at once, plus us, and the best way to solve the dilemma was to simply eliminate the sofa couch option. The new couch will arrive next month and be delivered into the apartment, because quite honestly our days of hauling around furniture has ended. We offered the couch to our upstairs flat mates, giving full disclosure on the uncomfortableness, if they could carry it away themselves. They were so delighted as they don’t currently have a couch and as such, frankly didn’t care about our warnings. The nice thing about the couch is that all the sides and cushions come off, leaving just the frame, which is easier to take up the narrow stairs.
On the fourth, we wished all our family and friends a good holiday. For ourselves we went out for a beer at a favorite cafe – where the owners actually made me sing the national anthem. I did a decent job (yes, I knew the words – it was the singing that was the issue) and really hoped it wouldn’t be posted on YouTube. Then we decided to have ribs for dinner, in honor of many in the states who were doing the same.
On the 6th, the Tour de France sped through Lille. We went out onto the street curb around the corner from our place and witnessed all of the riders zipping by in the tight corridor. It shocked me that one could easily reach out and touch them going by, they were literally that close, in front of us. It was very thrilling to see. They were preceded and followed by quite the procession of multiple cars, carrying tons of back up bikes on their car racks. The police would walk up and down the streets to keep the crowd up on the sidewalk. Many craning to see the riders as they arrived, would step off the curb onto the street with their mobile phones. I wasn’t surprised to read that some dufus got in the path of one rider, further on, after Lille, in their travels and actually caused him to break his neck in a fall. “Cyclist Daniel Oss was forced to retire from this year’s Tour de France with a broken neck after he collided with spectators. The Team TotalEnergies rider crashed into fans at high speed while they were lined up along a cobbled street during Stage 5 between Lille and Arenberg. Footage shows Oss getting knocked off balance after clipping one fan before colliding with another who was leaning out to film the race on a phone.” CNN
With biking in mind, G got our registration done for the rental bikes, which I wanted to try. It was a complicated maze to register with the city on the computer website. But before we could even ride, when trying to rent the bikes with our new cards, the kiosk wasn’t taking our codes. It instructed us to contact their customer service. Going to their main office in the train station, we were helped by a really great customer service representative, who walked us out to the kiosk and got the computer to recognize us. The reason I wanted to ride the rental bikes is because they have bigger wheels and are built more like the step-through style I’ve always used. My hope is that reverting back to that style will help me regain my biking skills, which have clearly, completely and utterly disappeared. Then if I do achieve that, I can try to ride our folding bikes again. The folding bikes are just too different and that adds to my anxiety on the road. I truly do wobble on the bike lane like a five year old who just got their training wheels removed. There are times when you really don’t want to “color outside of the lines.” This is one of them. As if to underlined that sad statement, after getting the kiosk to recognize us and taking it on its maiden voyage in riding to the park , even with the old style bike, the short jaunt involved a few near-miss situations. G left me at the park to do some ‘real’ riding on his own, while I looped around trees and benches, trying desperately not to hit anything. I reasoned that if the obstacle was stationary versus a moving vehicle or pedestrian, I would be less likely to hit it. That was not the case and a spectacular miscalculation, as it turned out.
Finished biking, we decided to investigate some tents we had passed on the way to the park. They turned out to be a large food truck and umbrella seating specifically for a filming crew, which spurred us to walk around a few blocks looking for where they were shooting. We found a row of related technical trucks and vans and eventually came to the conclusion that they were filming inside a particular building, which had all of the lights on inside – very unnecessary for the very sunny day. So much for the “Let’s be in a movie” adventure – we will not be appearing in the background of some French movie. But not for lack of trying.
Fireworks of course did not occur on the 4th here but they did on the 14th, on Bastille Day – la fĂŞte nationale. It occurred to us that this is only the second year that we are in Lille for the holiday. The first year we had just settled into the Paris studio apartment and a friend had come to celebrate her birthday (which is the same date). The second year we were IN Lille but G was flat on his back with a pinched nerve and I doubt we even noticed the outside world. We did take pictures of fireworks for the blog but the plaza was empty of people or activity because everything was held at the canal. The third year any celebration was canceled because of the Covid Virus. The fourth year our friend was back in Paris and we were in Paris, then we were home when she stayed overnight. I didn’t mention the celebration, but they had parts of lock down because of Covid numbers were still high. It could have been that the festivities were more subdued in Paris. So this year, I can say that we were actually here, in good health, with no festival cancelations and we got to see what Lille does. It’s year five.
The night before, on the 13th, there were fireworks in the distance but out of sight. Since everyone had the next day off, there was a large crowd hanging out on the Opera House steps in the plaza, enjoying the cool evening after a hot day – until well after 2 am. On Bastille day, the next day, there was a military parade in the morning that we didn’t get our behinds out for, but we did see the jets fly by from the balcony, while hanging out in our PJ’s. We wandered out in the crowds in the afternoon as there were a couple of events and performers on the plaza’s, which we got to enjoy. In the evening we were treated to a great fireworks show, viewed from our balcony – like we did the year G was out of commission with his back. This year we noticed that the building was eerily quiet because everyone had left on holiday. It was what they refer to as a ‘Bridge holiday’ – when the holiday is on a Tuesday or a Thursday and they take the day off in between to loop it with the weekend. So Bastille Day landed this year on a Thursday – they took off Friday and along with the weekend, it’s a Bridge holiday. Anyway, folks are off visiting family or going to the coast. It kind of has the same feel of the 4th of July in the states.
We did the regular tasks in mid month, and attended to a variety of doctor appointments. There are still a few annual checks we need to take care of but finding a specialist within a short distance, who speaks English well, is a bit of work. But it’s just the mundane things that everyone has to do.
With the temperatures on the rise this month, our meals shifted and with breakfast featuring yogurt with fruit. Have to say that one of my daily pleasures is our yogurt with blueberries and slivered almonds. The blueberries are so good, it just makes my mouth happy. The salads are phenomenal because produce here is also fabulous. Preparing anything warm or anything requiring cooking during the heat wave, became something to avoid. A caprice salad here with the fantastic tomatoes, burrata cheese and fresh basil, is sublime.
In fact, at the height of the heat wave, we went to our favorite little produce market and bought a good variety of different fruits. Back home we fashioned 4 little basket/buckets out of paper bags, putting egg carton halves on the bottom for stability and lined it with plastic wrap. Then we put in the smorgasbord of fruits in each and delivered them in the morning to Audrey top floor, flatmates 4th floor, office women on the 2nd floor and the last around the corner to Flo’s shop. We told them all to stay cool – the fruit was to keep them refreshed and the baskets were deeply appreciated. Flo made smoothies with his. We also wanted to buoy the morale regarding the oppressive heat and well before the annual Braderie, which is the beginning of next month. That can be a very tough time on the locals, with the 2 million+ intense visitor crowds. If the heat is anywhere near the same on Sept 1st, it’ll be a nightmare.
But even in the heat, some tasks outdoors could not be avoided. G had a haircut scheduled in the afternoon and braved the outside to get that done, in. He came home three inches shorter from the heat. However, a beer from the refrigerator revived him. But just barely. I think another 10 minutes and he’d have been toast. Literally. 103 is not funny.
We’ve been asked, and readily acknowledge, that we read the daily news (several newspaper outlets, US and Globally) and are in step with unfolding events. It’s absolutely terrifying to read about the many things occurring in the US right now, especially the horrible multiple shootings that happened this month, in quick succession. I have a friend who is so traumatized that I am making a point of sending clips of news that remind her that there are still good things in the world – to keep her from hiding in her bed.
One favorite item was the news that Finland is using sand as an energy conductor. The sand is kept in silos and heated by wind or solar and can keep its 500c temperatures. They’re using it to provide for the community households and it’s incredibly successful. Then, a whole different science achievement, the James Webb telescope, has taken pictures of the universe which are stunning and simply breathtakingly beautiful – nothing short of amazing and incredible. If you haven’t seen them, you really should.
On a smaller front, we’ve been enjoying a bird identification app which our visitor, K, had suggested to put on my mobile phone. I had told her that Lille is a crossroads for migrating birds and they have such beautiful songs that I wished I could identify them. The app, called Merlin Bird ID, enables you to record their song (or take a photo) and then identifies it for you. I tried it twice and it really worked! Recording was easy and I not only got the name of the bird but it allowed me to hear the app’s recording of the trilling to verify that it indeed was what I was hearing. On that first try, I identified a Chaffinch – very light joyful noise and next an Eurasian Magpie. It’s a really great tool and I’m thrilled to see and know what the birds are. But these pieces of news and little personal finds help me to find a reasonable balance when the news becomes so dark.
Staying inside from the heat, I returned my attention to putting together a manual, of which I determined that I was in dire need. There are so many pieces that I don’t know or understand that are related to our daily working life, which is a bit scary to me. The biggest mystery was how the FR healthcare system and residency system work. It’s a maze of cards for different circumstances. The renewal dates, the documents required to do so, the contacts for every part of our life, US or FR, and what to expect in requirements. G isn’t as organized, but has handled all of this, which is why I had to learn and then do this. It’s all about the paperwork. And then mechanics such as the three circuit boxes which have different functions here; one in our unit, one in the outside hall and one in the lobby, plus where the water shut off is located. We have the manuals on the boiler and thermostat so they aren’t an issue. Knowing where things are located and what part they play, is.
Then I need a walk through the FR tax forms. Our US taxes are handled by the accountants we’ve had for 35 years and they send us a list of what they need to do that task. The French taxes are pretty much reporting what US taxes are based on, since they have a treaty in place to prevent double taxation, which exempts us from the French tax side. The manual is done and I have cleared the cobwebs, so that nothing I mentioned above remains a mystery. Once that was completed, I was feeling virtuous, sure that I was approaching sainthood at this point. Then of course I remembered my biking skills. Nope, no sainthood for me and I stopped feeling smugly satisfied with myself. Reality bites.
Another project I worked on was in regards to a very annoying cable wire that dangles outside, right in front of our living room window. That damn cable, swinging in the window at mid point was an eye sore I was determined to be rid of – without falling out of the window in the process. I went to the hardware store and bought some thin rope – like clothesline rope and an extension pole. Back at the apartment I fashioned a system using two poles – the second one from a floor sweeper – with things to help, taped on the end. I did a slip knot on the rope, snaked it behind a big vent pipe that runs down the building’s front with one of the poles. With the second pole that I put together with an L shape end, I put tape on backwards so the sticky part faced out. I extended that to catch the rope on the other side of the vent pipe by way of the sticky tape. There was no other way to reach around to the other side and grab the rope. THEN pulling it back in, I now had a rope going around the pipe. I put the cable in the center, threaded the rope end through the slip knot and by pulling the rope, anchored the cable wire to the vent pipe. I couldn’t very well tie it off or cut it at the pipe (unless I developed wings), so I tied it to the corner of a grate located at the bottom of our window. It’s out of site and not at all noticeable. A lot of work – 7 design modifications after failed try’s and an hour of huffing and puffing, but great satisfaction not to have to see that anymore.
Still no sign of sainthood, so as a reward we walked to the Vieille Bourse, the old stock exchange. On Sunday evenings during the summer, they have tango practice for students in the open courtyard. We have been promising to sign up for lessons but it keeps getting put at the end of our list of ‘to-do’s’. Maybe next year. But it was a lovely evening to watch them.
To finish the month, we just walked in the mornings when it was cool, we enjoyed the wonderful farmers markets here and had fun making some great meals with our purchases. Nothing really newsworthy but it’s a good life.
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