School’s Out… For Two Months!
If you’ve ever wondered what summer looks like in France with children, here’s your answer: long. Very long. Unlike in England, French children enjoy two whole months off school. This year, it meant endless days in the garden for us — and, I think, more barbecues in one summer than in my entire 39 years of existence. It was glorious.
Less glorious? The mosquitos.
The Bitey Side of Summer
Living in West Sussex, mosquitos were never really on my radar. Here, they were unavoidable — and unkind. Both the girls and I reacted badly to the bites, some of mine even becoming infected. Painful, itchy, and constant. Even now, in September, they’re still hanging around like uninvited dinner guests. I’m hoping, in time, we’ll get used to them… or at least stop reacting with such impressive swelling!
And then there was the sun. France treated us to a relentless heatwave: weeks of 35–39°C, day after day. Despite sunscreen, I experienced my first ever blistering sunburn. Lesson learned: in this climate, reapply, reapply, reapply.
A Poolside Summer
One thing that made the heat bearable was our new garden pool. Big enough for all four of us, it stayed up the entire summer. In the UK, we’d never have managed something like this — but here, it was worth every bit of maintenance. Refreshing dips became part of our daily routine, and the girls had the best time splashing about. In that relentless heat, it was a real lifesaver.
Family, Food, and the French August
One of the highlights of the summer was having my husband’s sister and her family come to stay. The girls loved meeting their new cousins, and the house felt happily full.
But August in France comes with its quirks — namely, everything shuts down. Shops, offices, even administrative services. We’re still waiting for some of the documents we applied for when we first moved here, simply because nothing was processed in August. As everyone warns, French paperwork is a marathon, not a sprint. We’re learning patience.
On the upside, my carte vitale finally arrived — a big milestone in settling here. Hooray for progress!
Finding My Place (and Accepting Cheese as Payment)
Another small but lovely step forward: I’ve been helping friends at my husband’s club with English lessons. It’s been wonderful to have human contact outside our little family bubble, and I’ve been touched by their generosity — gifts of cheese, wine, vegetables from the garden, flowers. In England, I wasn’t used to this kind of thoughtful gifting, and it’s something I’m already coming to cherish.
Surviving the Heat: Pets and People
The animals struggled through the heat as much as we did. Loona, our Australian Shepherd, was kept busy (and cool) with frozen lick mats and enrichment games. The guinea pigs chilled out with ice packs tucked into their cages — small lifesavers, really, because cavies do not cope with heat well.
Then came the unexpected trip to urgence. Our 11-year-old managed to dislocate her kneecap on the trampoline — at 9pm, of course, just as we were enjoying a late dinner outside. The hospital treated her swiftly: gas and air, x-ray, pain relief, and we were out within 90 minutes. For context, in the UK’s beloved NHS system, that would have been a four- to five-hour wait, minimum. The bill? Around €25, mostly covered by insurance. Not bad at all.
She’s recovering now, but with her inherited hypermobility (thanks to me), it’s something we’ll need to watch carefully.
Turning Toward Autumn
Now the air is cooling, the girls are back at school, and I can breathe again. Our eldest has started college — a huge experience in itself (more on that in another post). I’m also beginning to think about what my life here in France will look like, beyond paperwork and settling in.
And, of course, there’s our little building project in the garden for the Japanese koi… but that’s a story for next time.