Day 779 (Sunday) 28^th July 2019

We had a lovely lazy day today sunbathing and pottering and I’m happy to say that the wonderful blue sky is back and it’s lovely and warm without too much humidity so yesterday’s storm did some good. Villefranche just doesn’t look right in the rain, does it?

Our flowers are looking good after the rain last night

But the lavender isn’t looking too good

Sorry to be a cat person but Badger was seriously cute yesterday evening so I took a series of photos of him.

Yesterday evening I found this article on The Local France website which explains our crappy weather yesterday.

After the heatwave - the storms arrive in France

As the record-breaking heatwave abates, France is set to be battered by storms over the weekend, with forecasters even predicting hail in some areas.

It's been a week of record-breaking temperatures, with Paris and numerous other northern towns and cities recording their highest temperatures ever on Thursday.

But now the weather is set to break with storms predicted across the country for Friday and Saturday - and forecasters even issuing storm warnings in the east of the country which is expected to be particularly badly hit.

Moving into Saturday, the storms are largely travelling east before dispersing on Sunday to leave a pleasant combination of sunshine and cloud for most of the country.

The heatwave saw records for the all-time highest temperatures tumbling across northern France.

Paris hit 42.6C by 4.30pm, beating its previous hottest recorded temperature by a full 2.2C, but many other towns also recorded their highest ever temperatures including Chablis, Sens, Chatîllon-sur-Seine, Auxerre, Pontarlier, Troyes, Reims, Epinal, Charleville-Mézières, Strasbourg, Chartres, Romarantin, Bourges, Orléans, Tours, Rouen, Evreux, Caen, Deauville, Le Havre, Amiens, Beauvais, Lille, Dunkerque, Le Touquet, Saint-Maur, Orly, Roissy and Pointoise.  

French weather forecaster Météo France is predicting storms across the north and east of the country on Friday; with only southeast France set to remain sunny.

Seven départements are currently on orange alert for storms, while another 21 remain on orange alert for high temperatures. People living in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region have been warned that they could even be seeing some hailstorms on Saturday morning.

Despite this, the all-time record for the hottest temperature ever recorded in France - set last month in the southern département of Hérault - stayed intact at 46C.

Here are the next two places in France that The Local France recommend

Ardennes, northeastern France

Overlooked by tourists all year round, this wooded region bordering Belgium is a peaceful backwater less than three hours' drive from Paris.

It’s a great choice for lovers of the great outdoors, drawing in kayakers, climbers, hikers, horse-riders and mountain bikers to its national park.

The fortified village of Rocroi - which is built in a star-shape and comes with a bloody history of wars through the centuries - is a must for history buffs.

Orne, northern France

Tourists in Normandy flock to the region’s beaches in summer, leaving the inland department of Orne to be just as sleepy as it is all year round.

The natural regional parks of the Perche and Normandie-Maine are located in the southern half of the Orne department and are well worth a visit.

But holidaymakers in this department are in for a gastronomic treat, as Orne is home to the village of Camembert, where the famously creamy French cheese is from.

If you’re passing through, make sure to pay a visit to Camembert’s Cheese museum, which is literally built in the shape of a Camembert cheese. And taste a few dozen samples.