A Week in the South of France
We have decided to spend one week in August in Drôme Provençale, in the south of France. It will be our last summer activity before the 2025-2026 new academic year (la rentrée) starts. Being an English teacher in France, la rentrée means I have to get back to the classroom after summer break. We think the south of France will be the perfect spot to switch into relax mode, both mentally and physically. It will help us prepare for the new academic year. It will also be a time to recover, after our two-month stay in Singapore and the 3-day hike in the French Alps last week.
We have rented a holiday house (un gîte) in La Baume de Transit, a little village of fewer than 1,000 inhabitants. It’s a semidetached, restored former stone farmhouse, surrounded by vast expanses of olive, pistachio, and grape vines. From the house, we can only see green: various shades from the cultivated lands and the regional nature parks beyond.
It’s unfortunate that our week-long stay in Drôme Provençale coincides with a heatwave in the south of France. Temperatures reach the high 30s (°C) during the day, and drop to the mid-20s only after midnight. As a result, breathable time outdoors is very limited – either before 10 or 11 in the morning, or close to midnight.
Various Shades of Green
When we reached the gîte from Grenoble in the early evening, after a 2-hour drive, the temperature was still a stifling 38 degrees Celsius. After unpacking our things and a quick early dinner, we had lots of idle time. From the wide living room window, I could see the various shades of green. The landscape reminded me of the 6 different types of green watercolour in my palette, 3 of which were new from Singapore. It was the perfect time to try them out! So, I carried the bedroom desk to the living room and sketched the view before my eyes.
Things We Did During the First Two Days of the Heatwave
In terms of basic amenities, there are a couple of supermarkets and restaurants. Being an agricultural region, there are weekly outdoor markets with seasonal fruits and vegetables. There are also several wine estates open for wine tasting and retail sales.
The south of France is famous for rosé (pink wine). Coupled with a few ice cubes, the orangey-pink wine, light on the taste buds, is usually an ideal drink for summer. I was actually planning to enjoy iced pink wine every day during our one-week stay in Drôme Provençale. However, the long days of extreme heat discourage any desire for strong alcoholic drinks, even a rosé. As of today, we still haven’t opened a single bottle. To quench our thirst (besides drinking water, of course!), we have a variation of panaché (shandy). Instead of mixing lemonade with beer, we just mix Sprite with beer.
On the second day, which was a Sunday, we woke up late at 9 a.m. – the result of not setting the alarm. We had planned to visit the outdoor food market at Valaurie, another village perched on a small hill about a 20-minute drive away. Worrying that we would have to shop under searing heat, we skipped breakfast and headed out. Thankfully, the temperature was still quite cool, in the early twenties.
The Valaurie market was set up behind a church; the building and the trees shaded it well. It was a charming place, but had only a handful of stands. We were hoping to get some meat and vegetables for dinner. In the end, though, we only bought some local cow cheese, smoked sausages, bread and pastries, and seasonal fruits (nectarines and melons). Despite the limited shopping, we were delighted with the quality.
With the temperature still at a pleasant level, we decided to have our morning coffee at the café next door. The few shaded alfresco tables on the terrace were taken. So, the staff invited us to use the tables just a short flight of stone steps below the terrace. It was actually a great idea – a big tent and some trees shaded the spot, and it was unoccupied. We had our coffee and enjoyed the pastries we’d bought earlier, surrounded by greenery and gently cooled by the occasional breeze.
By the time we finished our coffee, it was close to 11 a.m. The earlier pleasant temperature had disappeared. We could feel the weather getting hotter as we walked down to our car, parked at the bottom of the hill. Before dashing back home to escape the withering heat, we popped by the wine cellar just next to the parking lot. Guess what we bought? A local wine, of course! And since it’s summer, a local rosé!
One good thing about being cooped indoors, shying away from the frightening sun, is that one tends to find more creative ways to spend one’s time. Bored out of my mind, I drew the kitchen corner.