On June 16, I left the cool weather of Amsterdam, and ran smack into a blast furnace, otherwise known as France. I learned a new French word..Canicule..heatwave. When I arrived in my little French coastal town, it was in the low 90s. Quelle Horror!
My little apartment had no AC, but it was situated on a low cliff overlooking the Mediterranean, so there was a breeze. That and 2 fans made it livable. The heat broke to a tolerable 80 degrees the following day.
Notes:
1.Contactless credit cards are the bomb. Makes life so much simpler. Some of the small shops only took cash. So be prepared.
2. Most of the people in this town spoke a little English, but were hardly fluent. Just be aware. I heard American English spoken only once. A guy in a white dress shirt and bright pink shorts, speaking loudly on his phone. Another note: This French beach was quiet. No music. No loud talking. No alcohol. No games. No "rough housing".
3. Swim shoes and a hat. Rocky beaches are not kind to feet. Hats are a must in the sun. I brought a hat, but had to buy a pair of swim shoes. They only took cash. (note to self)
4. French beaches. All kinds of bodies. All ages. Bikinis and Speedos are not just for the young and fit. Just sayin'.
I admire the ability of these beach goers to get dressed/undressed while wrapped in a bath towel. I'd say, don't stare, but I did. That's what sunglasses are for.
5. Corkscrew. Bring one. I didn't find any screw top wine bottles in the local grocery. Granted I didn't look at every bottle, but gave the wine department a quick look.
6. Self cleaning toilets. This is the first time I availed myself of the self cleaning toilets. I find them a little intimidating. (I have a vision of getting washed along with the interior of the toilet.) But better than the old "hole in the ground" which they replaced. You know what I'm talking about if you have been to these outposts in the past. I was pleasantly surprised. They are very clean. But very wet, if they have just cleaned themselves. So I wouldn't want to put anything on the floor. No toilet lid. There was toilet paper, but I would bring along a pack of tissues just in case. One was self locking when I closed the door. The other I had to push the button to lock the door.
7. I was very pleased with SNCF Connect. I know it got off to a rocky start, but I found it to be very user friendly. Very easy to pull up my ticket's QR code. It sent me an update noting a delay on my train schedule. Only 5 minutes which did not impact my travel.
My trip involved 5 train stations and a metro run from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon. Everything came off like clockwork.
I returned home to rain and the cool weather, and somehow, I was happy to have it.