Enjoying the summer heat in Les Pilles

 Sunday 20/08/23

This area of Europe is being subjected to a 'heat dome' where stable, hot air is being held under a high-pressure system - a technical event translating into very hot days.  We've been having daytime temperatures in the 30's for more than a week and the week ahead is more of the same - until Saturday.

It's hot, hot, hot!

We're helped somewhat by the river running past the house as the overnight temperature drops enough to cool the house down and we keep all the shutters closed during the day.  

The sun rises before 07:00 and only sets after 20:30 so the days are long and the temperatures only peak late into the afternoon.  It's a nice, dry heat and we're fortunate not to have to be very active while here.

The area is full of evidence of the formation of the Alps.
Rock sediment layers folded over when continents collided millions of years ago.

Sooty is a walking, running machine - completely indefatigable.

Early morning and late evening walks with Sooty work well, with a river swim added in sometimes during the heat of the day if we're all up for it.  

We took a lovely drive up the valley yesterday and some of the views are amazing; it really is a beautiful part of France that we are currently in.  It can be busy in the touristy areas but as soon as you take a walk or drive off the beaten track you can have the area all to yourself.

We found this stowaway in the kitchen

These bumblebees have to be quite acrobatic to hold onto these pom-poms

We only have a short time left here so are packing in as much walking and sight-seeing as we can - this time next week we'll be on the road back to Brittany.

Bonus pic - Do you ever get the feeling you're being watched?

Nyons market day

 Sunday 13/08/23

The beautiful single-arch bridge was built in the 1300's and sits 18m above the river Aigues.

Our closest large village is Nyons, which was first populated by a Gallic tribe in the sixth century BC.  It has a lovely ancient Roman bridge across the river into the old town and, in summer, has market days on Thursdays and Sundays.

The lovely chapel built on the keep of the medieval castle

We had already seen how busy the markets can get so we made our way in, bright and early, and had a lovely walk around the narrow lanes before the market was in full swing.

We're really enjoying having a car and the Duster is great fun to drive.  The SatNav is still taking some getting used to...

Although the Duster is a very capable 4x4, we thought it
prudent not to follow the Satnav route up the stairs...

One of the routes we took into the mountains - we would have struggled in Bokkie

The weather remains glorious and sunny - long may it last!

Les animaux de Les Pilles

 Monday 07/08/23

Ola spends most of her time in the garden but found this 'very comfortable' spot for a nap.

Rumi chilling as only a cat can

Old girl, Hilda in her favourite spot - the basket where the spare packets are kept.

Sooty is always ready for playtime

Hilda has a habit of intently watching one - Crazy-Eyes

We're almost half-way through this sit and I have been on my own for almost a week.  Toni managed to break a tooth quite badly just as all the local dentists went on their summer holiday so we decided it made sense for her to fly back to the UK and have it repaired.  She was able to get it repaired by Richard, who has looked after out teeth since we moved to the UK.  She's been spending a few (cold) days with Charmaine and Nathan and I think she is looking forward to returning to warmer weather in France.

Sooty and I hiked up part of the Autusche mountain trail

Sooty basically pulled me all the way up and all the way back down - my legs were stiff for days...

It's fairly boring on my own although I have been kept amused by the animals and have enjoyed many a long walk with Sooty.  We took this house-sit with the intention of finding out out what summers are like in the area.  Many Brits find it unbearably hot here so we wanted to see for ourselves as we still are trying to find where we want to settle down.  We've been captivated by the area, the scenery just to the South of here is very similar to the Cape winelands and the weather is fantastic, certainly not too hot for us.  

The river water is the ideal temperature for swimming in and the inexhaustible Sooty absolutely loves playing in the water, chasing sticks and trying desperately to catch the trout we see hiding in the deeper water.