When it's Hot in Paris and Other Thoughts

When It's Hot

The last couple weeks have been warm for Paris, up into the mid 90s. It is very rare to have air conditioning in Paris so we have suffered a little. Well, one dresses for the heat and shutters the windows during the day and opens them in the evening and night. Everyone is eating salads along the sidewalk cafés and drinking chilled rosé wine.

This evening the weather is quite comfortable with a small breeze flowing through the apartment and the temperature being in the lower 70s. When it was warmer this afternoon I took a siesta and now I can enjoy staying up later this evening.

The Paris Plage

The Paris Plage (Paris Beach) opened Wednesday and everyone is taking advantage. Several tons of sand were brought in, beach chairs, umbrellas, etc. along the Seine and there is a vacation spirit. I will go down tomorrow and take a few photos.

The Tour de France (bicycle race) arrives in Paris tomorrow finishing along the Champs Elysées after having spent several previous weeks with stages in most parts of France. Now that Lance Armstrong has stopped participating, the field is open and it is amazing that an American again will probably win tomorrow.

All said, tomorrow will be charged, starting with housekeeping in the morning, Tour de France mid-afternoon and then Paris Plage in the late afternoon. Hopefully, I can do everything on the schedule.

The Coupe du monde

There is usually something in the papers each day about Zidane and the Coupe du Monde. He was fined last week and suspended for three games, even if he is retired. There is not much one can do about that unfortunate lack of judgment in the last minutes of the last game of Zidane’s career. Certainly everyone was buzzing about the game and it still comes up in conversation. Most people here think that even if he was insulted, the head butt wasn’t very sportive and uncalled for. The speech after the game of Jacques Chirac was empty when he praised Zidane for his contribution, for giving France hope and for his excellent sportsmanship… dohhh. Guess he had that written before the game.

Bordeaux and Region

The trip to Bordeaux was quite good the weekend of 14-Juillet. I took the train to Bordeaux and then by car to the Medoc and saw the famous wine chataux, most of which were closed for the holiday and the weekend....hmm. I did not realize that the Grand Chateaux require a reservation one month in advance (Lafite Rothschild, Chateaux Margaux, etc.) and the lesser known require one week’s reservation. Well, I did visit two lesser châteaux but I was not impressed with the wine I tasted. In the end, I did not buy any wine to lug back to Paris. I notice there are some of the same wines in my local supermarket for a few euros more than in Bordeaux. On the internet one can buy wine, the selection is greater but on has to pay for shipping. There is no free lunch but if the lunch includes a good wine, well… who cares ? The rest of the trip was to the west coast and beaches, then to the Saint Emillon region (more wine).

World Cup Soccer in Paris

Paris is seldom dull and this week in particular has brought more than the usual level of excitement. France and indeed Paris are in a frenzy over the 'Coupe du Monde'. Last evening I watched most of the match of France versus Portugal. It was a little warm but pleasant (80degrees) and I left the windows open to the cool breeze as did the neighbors. Normally there are no sounds from the neighbors and indeed the apartment is usually quite calm and quiet. Well, except last evening when I could hear the cheers and groans from the multiple 'Coupe du Monde' parties. As soon as the match concluded with France's 1 to 0 victory, there were many loud cheers and soon there after, car horns blasted coming from everywhere. Although the match finished around 11pm, there were still honking horns well into the middle of the night. The standard rallying place is the Blvd des Champs Elysées but last night the celebration clearly spread throughout the city. I can only imagine the wild celebration if France wins the final on Sunday evening. I will have to take a nap Sunday afternoon just in case.