We are not making this heat-wave business up. From the June 28th edition of The International Herald Tribune:
“…health officials in central and southern Europe rushed Monday to put in place emergency measures to deal with the effects of another heat wave. Officials in Spain and Portugal, hit by the worst drought in 60 years, ear-marked aid for farmers. In France, Health Minister Xavier Bertraud promised the installation of a nationwide emergency system, including a requirement that all establishments for the elderly have at least one air-conditioned room.”
In keeping with Minister Bertraud’s promise, social welfare officials today rescinded the limit on the number of elderly who can be crammed into one air-conditioned room.
OK, we did make up that last part.
We fear our journal may be dwelling too much on the heat wave. The owner of our home-exchange apartment has apologized for the weather and offered us another stay. Antoine and Kathy, if you’re reading this, we do not hold you responsible – but we’re jumping at the opportunity to accept your kind offer! Thank you for your sentiments and the use of your lovely apartment; we’re doing just fine. The Metro stations are a good 10 degrees cooler than the streets, and you’d be surprised how refreshing it can be to rest your head on the air conditioner vent in the local Haagen Dazs store.
Today’s trip was to Montmartre and the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, high atop the butte – maybe the loveliest sight we’ve seen in Paris. Dare we say it, the funiculaire was like an oven, packed as it was front to back.
We have three more days here to see a museum or two, but we’re already looking ahead to our week in Germany. We’ve decided to put the autobahn to good use by driving all the way up to Berlin for a two-night stay, arriving on July 5.
It may be too late to visit a site familiar to Doug during his Army tour in the mid-60s: Today’s Herald Tribune notes that the Checkpoint Charlie museum – commemorating the high-intrigue crossing point between East and West Berlin during the Cold War and Berlin Wall years – has lost its lease and may be gone by July 5.
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