My last day in the Fumel/Monsempron, Lot et Garonne area in the south of France…four days of heatwave, and lots of watering by yours truly…the Roses are blooming in the garden.
Saturday was a day of lumping another 12 bags of metal, to level out the paved areas in the garden, more soil for the planter box…that had shrunk in the heat, and a bit of barking around the roses to keep the moisture in….
The final touches making the garden a very pleasant area to enjoy a cool drink in the evenings…that is when it gets cool, right now (and for the last four days) temperatures have been hitting 40 degrees in the late afternoon, just when Roland goes to work for the dinner shift at the Brit Hotel, where many guests choose to sit on the terrace to enjoy the view, rather than the inside air-conditioned dining room! To be fair, Kevin and I did the same for lunch on Sunday, our day of rest to let the bodies recover!
Monday we were invited to a friends house for lunch, taking along the Kiwi/Oz asparagus rolls for an appetiser…followed by a four course lunch, of which I had to stop at two! As we clambered in the car at 2pm, the temperature outside was 50 degrees. It was home for a rest all round…lying still is the only option in our upstairs bedrooms which are still 32 degrees at 10pm! Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining, the alternative of a wet cold winter in NZ is far less appealing than the odd bucket of sweat!
This morning, my hosts had a prior engagement, and I am left to my own devices…watering, washing and wandering…jobs done I took off on foot, roaming around the side streets towards Monsempron village. The new abode of Kevin and Roland is between this village and Fumel.
The stone homes of old…
And the greenery (even in this heat) are beautiful in the morning shade….
These villages criss-cross over little rivers flowing into the Lot River.
I reached the centre Ville around 11am…having been strolling on the shaded sides of the street…
The temperature outside the Pharmacy already recording 36 degrees…I bought some fruit and a couple of cans of coke and settled under the umbrellaed terrace at the town cafe to enjoy a large latte! … nearing midday I decided I had better head home, before I would be in danger of melting…taking a different route…
Down tree lined streets, actually the most direct route I could envisage…without once looking at Google maps!
Home…the villa welcoming me, with closed shutters, a cool retreat for the afternoon…but first one more load of washing to hang, and a check to see if the plants need another drink…
The garden is happy, with large hibiscus trees flowering in abundance…
And the solar powered water feature bubbling away in the early afternoon sun…but now an afternoon in the coolest part of the house watching Wimbledon (tennis) matches …. Was going to pack as tomorrow I embark on my next (long) journey to Malta, but I have tomorrow morning to do this.
All who wander are not Lost girls 