First of all, thank you to everyone who has checked in on us following the news reports about the fires sweeping across south-western France and parts of Spain. Fortunately, we're in the south-east of France, so we've escaped the worst of it. We've had a few small fires nearby, but nothing that couldn't be brought under control fairly quickly. The weather has continued to be super hot and dry. Temperatures have been in the mid to high thirties every day and everything around

So first up, we’re still having a heatwave. We’ve had days and days of temperatures hovering between 35 and 40 degrees and there’s no sign of it easing any time soon. I am, as I think I’ve mentioned before, basically a lizard. I love the heat, so it really isn’t bothering me. The house, thankfully, is coping well too, although we’ve developed something of a daily ritual. Open every window at first light, close them again once the temperature starts climbing, shut every shutte

As someone who thinks in song lyrics, I cannot write the title to this post without immediately thinking of Adam Ant and the almighty crush I had on him when I was a teenager. However, my subject for today is not Ant music, but La Poste! Suffice it to say, I’ve had a few issues with deliveries since arriving here in France. To be fair, lots of parcels probably get delivered successfully by La Poste every week, however, I seem to have developed a talent for being the except

I have a few things to cover in this post; Firstly the heatwave! Like much of Europe, for the past 2 weeks, we have experienced very high temperatures, blue skies and sunshine. Our Provençal farmhouse has very thick stone walls so despite the heat outside, it remains surprisingly cool inside, without the need for aircon which is wonderful. The owner of our property was here for two weeks to do some maintenance which honestly was a bit awkward but we got through it. While he w

Before I launch into my story for this post, first of all, check out the picture of the vines! They seriously change every single day. I think the little blobs in the picture will eventually become grapes. The weather has been pretty sunny but it’s still not that warm yet (by my standards!) and we’ve had some rain as well. I see the farm workers out early every morning with various pieces of equipment, tending to the acres and acres of vines. It’s a big job. I have thought ab

Boulangeries, fatbergs, and the Mistral rearranging my face Ok so I promised that in this post I would add some pictures and explain a little about where we actually are in France… so here goes. We’re in a small village in the Côtes du Rhône region in the South of France — about 12km northwest of Avignon, just over an hour from Marseille and Montpellier. Aix-en-Provence is about 20 minutes from Avignon on the train (for those who know it — and I know some of you do). The vill

A Marseille mission, a rogue key, and a legally binding relationship Finally, all is quiet. I look outside… no movement in the trees. It feels like that strange silence when you step out of a thumping nightclub — your ears still ringing, but everything suddenly still. For nine days, the Mistral has been unrelenting, day and night. I had mistakenly assumed it was a summer wind, but in fact it tends to show up between winter and spring. I am no meteorologist, but this wind has

I touched down in Paris on a freezing cold, rainy Wednesday morning. It felt exactly as dramatic as it sounds. I had left Australia the day before in a state that can only be described as uncharacteristically emotional . I was crying in the airport. I was crying on the plane. I was still crying as the plane taxied for take-off, which is not ideal when you’re meant to be embarking on an exciting new chapter of your life. It had been a tumultuous few weeks. Living on a water-ac

What begins as a simple plan to buy a car in Marseille quickly turns into an exercise in French fine print, bureaucratic panic, and a surprising level of uncertainty about my Australian licence . Yesterday I spent the entire day trying to buy a car. I had done my homework. Hours of research. A clear budget. A preferred dealer. I had even been monitoring the Toyota dealer website in Marseille like it was the stock market. There was one car in particular I had my eye on. The pl