Travel Tuesday

 

 

Beating the heat.

Above: hiking in the French Alps

 ***

 Reprint from "Some like it hot" 7/26/2019

Some tips for keeping your cool in Paris:

Sip water throughout the day (skip ice-cold and sugary drinks), take cool showers, avoid caffeine, heavy physical activity, and the métro. Uber and G7 taxis are your friends - they usually have AC. Get your errands and sightseeing done early while it’s still fresh out, stay out of direct sunlight, and if possible, nap during hottest hours (in other words, copy cats). More: libraries, parks, gardens, churches - search: air-conditioned spaces open to the public Paris. Come evening, treat yourself to a tall cool one.

 

Pro tips: The city’s many chocolate shops, larger movie theaters and supermarkets (Carrefour, Champion, G20, Franprix etc.) all have strong AC - sometimes so strong the cashiers are wearing sweaters. Keep shutters and windows closed during the day to block out the heat. Or, if you can, head to the mountains. - BPJ

 

***

Fans / ventilateurs
  Space air conditioners / climatiseurs available at:

Darty, Castorama, Conforama, BHV, Bricorama, Mr. Bricolage, Leroy Merlin, Lidl

 

Gin juleps

The French-inspired mint julep of The Old South - originally sipped from silver goblets - just in time for this week's coming heatwave.

 Above: gin replaces traditional rum or cognac

 ***

Gin

Perrier or soda water

 Freshly-squeezed lime juice

Mint

Ice

Muy refrescante

On a tiny street down a (relatively) tiny flight of stairs in Montmartre, just over a block away from chez nous, a tiny gem is serving up icy cold drinks and authentic house-made arepas, Venezuela's signature corn-based flatbreads that are also the name of these sandwiches.

 Above: incredibly refreshing limón-laced Papelón, the national iced tea w/avocado guasacaca (that's not a typo) and manioc chips; pulled pork and beef arepas w/crumbled Venezuelan white cheese, black beans, fried plantain

  Bululu Arepera

20 rue de la Fontaine-du-But 75018

Open in August

French spoken

Some like it hot

Beat the heat in The City of Love and hole up à deux for a sizzling night (or two - why not?) at one of the capital's many air-conditioned hotels - ask if the hotel is climatisé or has climatisation. Indoor swimming pool, cocktail bar and spa a plus.

Above: afternoon room service

 ***

The heat is on. Again. But you won't hear that refrain on everyone's lips these days, "Il fait chaud!", coming from me. In comparison to summers I've known in Arizona (dry), New York (humid), the South of France chez my French in-laws (cigales chirping in unison each evening), Morocco (early errand runs) and Spain (¡Ay, que calor!) - and how about those five weeks in India? - Paris' brief canicules seem almost tame. It helps living in an airy apartment / artist's loft in always-slightly-cooler Montmartre in a well-insulated historic building. A plus: an interior courtyard with shade trees reduces the need for AC; a fan will suffice as temperatures rise. 

 

Some tips for keeping your cool in Paris:

Sip water throughout the day (skip ice-cold and sugary drinks), take cool showers, avoid caffeine, heavy physical activity, and the métro. Uber and G7 taxis are your friends - they usually have AC. Get your errands and sightseeing done early while it’s still fresh out, stay out of direct sunlight, and if possible, nap during hottest hours (in other words, copy cats). More: libraries, parks, gardens, churches - search: air-conditioned spaces open to the public Paris. Come evening, treat yourself to a tall cool one.

 

Pro tips: The city’s many chocolate shops, larger movie theaters and supermarkets (Carrefour, Champion, G20, Franprix etc.) all have strong AC - sometimes so strong the cashiers are wearing sweaters. Keep shutters and windows closed during the day to block out the heat. Or, if you can, head to the mountains. - BPJ

 

***

Fans / ventilateurs
  Space air conditioners / climatiseurs available at:

Darty, Castorama, Conforama, BHV, Bricorama, Mr. Bricolage, Leroy Merlin, Lidl

What heat?

As Paris temperatures soar icy cocktails are de rigueur come evening.