One unique way to handle the intense heat is to buy a little aerosol can of 'eau minérale', which is sold in pharmacies. It is full of Evian water or something similar and when you think you'll die if you have to spend one more minute on that hot bus, you pull it out and mist your face and arms with this lovely stuff. The evaporation is very cooling. I've never seen it sold anywhere but in France. Many cafés have a little pipe that emits a mist of cooling water running along under their awnings, much like the heaters they use in winter. But that's it for keeping cool.
I also learned the French word for a scorching heat wave, la canicule. It got me thinking about what used to be called, especially on the East Coast, "the dog days of summer", the astonishing wave of heat and humidity that usually came along in August when everyone was already tired of being hot. A little research revealed that canicule and the dog days are in fact derived from the same source. According to National Geographic, "The ancient Greeks thought of the constellation Canis Major as a dog chasing Lepus, the hare. The star Sirius is the dog’s nose; the Greeks called it the 'dog star'". It follows the constellation of Orion the Hunter through the skies. To the Greeks and Romans, the "dog days" occurred when the star Sirius rose just before the sun, in late July or early August.
This was, of course, not August but June and I had promised to spend the last weekend with the Sudour family, my friends in Marseille, where the temperature was a lot closer to 100°. We didn't do a lot except drink water and get in the pool, but it was a lovely visit nevertheless and Nathalie's wonderful meals under the arbor on their patio were a treat.
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| The Sudour Patio From Left to Right: Karen, Patrick, Louise, Nathalie & Elliott |