I have an incredible backlog of things I want to write about. It’s mostly a good problem to have (I was so busy having fun with all of our visiting friends and family, I didn’t have time to write about it). But it’s also because we just got hit with another heat wave and now my brain isn’t working very well.
We’re some of the lucky few here in Lyon that have air-conditioning in our apartment. Unfortunately, it’s not really working right now. We can get maybe an hour of use out of it in the mornings. We turn it on when it gets hotter outside than it is in our apartment. But then, once it heats up a bit more, the system struggles and starts blowing out hot air. Kristian is pretty sure it’s a freon leak.
Our landlords set up a service call and we’ve been dutifully waiting every day for an electrician to show up. Unfortunately, around dinner time we always get the word that he’s not going to make it. Allegedly, someone from a different company is coming tonight. Nobody is more excited than we are to find out if this will be true.
The last heat wave was vaguely tolerable, because it cooled down at night. Sometime around sunset, the temperature would dip precipitously and we could start airing out the apartment. Not this time. It’s still hotter outside than inside until around midnight. Kristian has been staying up late to open the windows. It also heats up quickly. I have to set an alarm to get up, close the windows, and walk the dog before the mercury shoots up around 8am.
I think I’ve had alerts every day this week that say “today was the hottest day on record in France” and “last night was the hottest day on record in France.”
It’s so hot, all of the local museums are free (“we don’t care if you actually look at the art, please get out of the heat”). It’s so hot, they outlawed public drinking during the local music festival last weekend. It’s so hot, they postponed this weekend’s pride parade.
The French have traditionally not been huge fans of air-conditioning (witness all the reels of French people in the US for the World Cup being astonished at how cold we keep our buildings). It’s starting to grow on them (this may or may not have something to do with the Climate Emergency), but there just aren’t as many places here where you can escape into blessed relief.
Things we have done this week to beat the heat:
- Gone to the movies to see “The Mandalorian and Grogu” (I thought it was mediocre, but Lilian loved it)
- Taken extra classes at my aerial studio (I paid 30 euros for Lilian to “take a class” on Tuesday night where she literally sat in the corner and read a book on her Kindle)
- Eaten mediocre hamburgers at one of the few local restaurants with an air-conditioned dining room
- Braved the cafe downstairs from our apartment that’s always full of students (more on this below)
- Paid to use the co-working space in the local Cat Cafe
Do you know what it seems like the rest of the city is doing? Sitting outside on patios and terraces like we haven’t all been secretly transported to Mordor. People like to dunk of the French for being “soft,” but they’re made of sterner stuff than most Americans give them credit for. I’m out here melting like a snowman and they’re sitting outside having apero.
I am currently sitting in the downstairs café. I am one of the few people sitting inside. Just about everyone else is out on the patio. Come rain or shine, the local hospitality students are out there. They drink extra during major sports matches and on drinking holidays, but they’re otherwise remarkably consistent. Based on the clientele, we assumed this was a bar that also served sandwiches. It turns out we were completely mistaken. It’s a legit café. The food is decent, the air-conditioning is gloriously functional, the decor is surprisingly tranquil. They even have a little co-working space with free wifi and no charge beyond “please pay for at least one coffee.” (Bless the lax French attitude about how long you can sit at a table without buying anything else). Oh, and the service is exceptional.
Do you know why the students all drink here? It’s affiliated with their school. The one that they all go to so that they can learn about hospitality. I’m not sure how the waitstaff get hired here, but they’re incredible. There is literally nothing good about the weather being hot enough to melt your face off. But I will begrudgingly admit that it’s nice to have discovered the café that was here this whole time.
Also, there’s a student who comes into the co-working space every afternoon, opens up his laptop, and then promptly puts his head down on the table to take a nap. A+ vibes, no notes.
