The weather in Europe has been making headlines around the globe this week. To say it’s been hot is an egregious understatement. We had a similar heatwave this time last year; sadly, this might be the beginning of a trend.
Here in the south, it’s always hot, and there are lots of green spaces and shade to keep cool in. But in many cities in Europe, it’s no joke. There is no reprieve, and this level of heat for this long is proving extremely dangerous.
When I was in cooking school in Paris almost 20 years ago, it was summer, and it was hot. Of course, I had a shoebox of an apartment on the 5th floor, with no air conditioning. Plus, it was very noisy if you left your windows open at night. We never had a heatwave like this, but it was nearly impossible to sleep even then. The buildings and the concrete reflect the warmth, and it becomes one giant radiating ball of intense heat with no escape. I used to stop in at the grocery store right before arriving at school and peruse the frozen food aisle. I’d open the doors and stick my head in, pretending I was deciding on an ice cream flavour just to cool off for a few seconds before heading into the searing heat of a kitchen packed with ovens, stoves, and students. I am certain that time in Paris was the beginning of my sleep challenges, and I’ve never been the same since.
So I understand how this has been for so many people, far worse than anything I had to endure. And I am lucky that most places I stay here now have at least one wall-mounted cooling unit, so it’s possible to sleep fairly well.
In Provence, it’s been perfect blue skies, very little wind, and if you get out early enough on the bike, totally manageable. You just have to tuck yourself away with the shutters closed in the late afternoon, which works well for me, as that’s when I have to get down to work. But I’ve had the added joy of catching a sinus cold. At first, I hoped maybe it was just allergies, or I was run down from the travel. One day good, one day not so good. But it finally took hold of me, and I definitely need time to recover.
It looks like the heat will continue, with a short reprieve before climbing up again. So, I hope to be in tip-top shape in a couple of days to enjoy the mornings out on the bike in search of lavender before it’s all gone. At these temperatures, no doubt everything will be harvested early this summer.
