I’ve been back in my namesake gite Chez Paula for a full week now, and it has felt like coming home. I’ve also been very lucky, as we’ve hit yet another heatwave; a week of +37 to +39 degrees has seemed more tolerable with a bit of air conditioning and a pool.
In France, la climatisation is rare, with only 55% of stores and less than 5% of French households having some. And when they say they have it, it doesn’t mean central air like it does in North America: it’s often just a small wall-mounted version or single unit. For comparison, 90% of US households have air conditioning and their 328 million people use more energy for cooling than 4.4 billion people living in all of Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia (apart from China) according to Time magazine.
Interesting art on the way up to Le Poët-en-Percip.
Air conditioning tangent aside, this past week has been much like many of the others, with endless blue skies, sunshine, and heat. While this is my kind of summer, we are all hoping for rain soon, as this is the worst drought France has ever seen. It seems we just keep jumping from the frying pan to the fire with disaster after disaster these last years. So having “fun” induces a bit of guilt. But what are the options? Perhaps, now more than ever, we are reminded to take each moment we get and celebrate it. Soak up what good we can while we can because we never know what’s coming. I don’t mean to be wasteful or thoughtless. Quite the opposite: take time to think about how each memorable, joyful moment is a gift. There are far too many times when there is nothing but bleakness in the distance.
Beautiful Aurel.
So, I have continued to enjoy bike rides through endlessly beautiful places, remote, and stunning. I am happy to have discovered even more unique routes and to know I am not adding to global climate issues by pedalling my bike around. Thank goodness, there are still amazing things to enjoy without any guilt whatsoever.
