Shopping Day in Paris Amid Travel Woes
Bonjour mes amis,
Yesterday was another catch-up day full of shopping and dealing with an unfortunate issue relative to our apartment! It is frustrating and exasperating. We feel we may be part of a scam. Many thanks to my realtor daughter for her assistance. Again, I caution about using VRBO.
Bernie, being the dear that he is, helped me color my hair and it’s okay…a little dark but the white will reappear in no time, so no worries.
We went over to the St. Michel area on Line 4 to a large Parapharmacie which in Paris is a mega drugstore noted to have a wide selection of cosmetic brands at great prices. They even carry brands like Clarins. We were successful in finding everything on our list except for one Clarins product…50+ sunscreen for the face. Their supply had been depleted and with summer’s end, they hadn’t reordered. I knew of an independent Clarins store back over near rue Franc Bourgeois, and they had just what I needed. Ladies, it’s the best.
Not many photos today except for this one caught last evening at a corner café…a cute French bulldog.
As fate would have it, our streak of bad luck continues. Bernie just received notification from our airline, Le Compagnie, that our flight home has been cancelled! Our option is to leave a day early or stay one additional day. We’ll opt for the former which means we will probably have to spend the night in Newark in order to make our Delta flights work back to Huntsville. Ain’t travelin’ fun? 
Amid all of this craziness, you can see why your comments help keep our spirits boosted. You have provided so much good information and asked some great questions. Some of those have been relative to what the drought and other climate change issues are having on France. I’ve pasted in an article from France24, the 24-hour news channel on the winegrowers. I tried to just copy the link but couldn’t figure that out so here’s the entire article. It’s very informative. If you’re not interested, just skip it!
Have a great day!
L & B
Winegrowers have had to start their harvests early in several French regions because of the summer’s searing heatwaves. In the southwestern Languedoc-Roussillon, they kicked off the harvest period at the end of July. In Haute-Corse, the northern part of Corsica, they began harvesting at the beginning of August. Both regions carried out their harvests one to three weeks earlier than usual.
“The 2022 vintage is complicated for the French wine industry,” said Laurent Audeguin from the French Wine and Vine Institute. “The heat causes the grapes to burn and ripen too early in most regions; the necessary aromas don’t have time to develop.”
“The rise in temperature also lowers the acidity of the wine and increases the alcohol content,” Audeguin continued. “So the whole balance is disturbed.”
Climate change hits hard
The drought exacerbates the problems caused by heatwaves. Normally vines can draw water from quite far down in the ground with their deep roots. But this year, water tables have completely dried up, especially in the south of France. Without water, a vine loses its leaves and the grapes stop growing.
“The quality is affected but so is the quantity of wine we can produce,” Audeguin said. “In the parts of France where they haven’t started the harvest, we’re waiting for a few drops of rain to change the situation.”
>> France’s unprecedented drought shows climate change is ‘spiralling out of control’
But the climate crisis means harvests like this are becoming the norm.
“Climate change has systematically affected wine production since 2010,” said Nathalie Ollat, an expert on winegrowing at French agricultural research institute INRAE. “This time we had hail, heatwaves and drought. It really brings home the consequences of global warming.”
Last year was already catastrophic. France’s wine industry had to endure a spring heatwave followed by frost in 2021, which destroyed a significant number of vines. Heavy rainfall then caused diseases such as mildew that eat away at the plants. Likewise, 2020 saw unusually early harvests because of a historically warm spring. “These phenomena are bound to repeat themselves,” said Ollat.
“I don’t know a single winegrower who doesn’t believe in climate change,” Audeguin said. “They have to live with global warming on a daily basis.”
On average, the French grape harvest happens three weeks earlier than 30 years ago. And there is a lot to be lost economically as well as culturally: wine and spirits exports contributed €15.5 billion to the French economy in 2021.
Bringing back forgotten varieties
So the wine industry is trying to adapt. In August 2021, it set up a national strategy to safeguard the vineyards.
“We’ve got to draw on the huge variety of grape varieties,” Ollat said. “France has about 400 grape varieties but it uses barely a third of them. The overwhelming majority have been forgotten – having been deemed insufficiently profitable at one point or another.”
Some of these forgotten grape varieties could be well adapted to the new weather conditions. “Some, especially those from mountain environments, mature later and seem particularly tolerant of drought,” Ollat continued. “They could prove particularly interesting.”
In the Alpine French region of Isère, winegrower Nicolas Gonnin is a specialist in these forgotten grape varieties. When he took over the small family business in 2005, he decided to uproot the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay plants installed by his grandparents in the 1970s and planted only local varieties with names barely known to the general public – such as Jacquère, Mondeuse Noire and Viognier.
>> ‘Humanity is bullying nature – and we will pay the price,’ WWF chief tells FRANCE 24
The advantage is twofold, Gonnin said: “It allows us to reconnect with our local heritage and produce wines with a real identity. At the same time, we have to rely on the diversity of grape varieties on offer to fight against climate change. In the past, people understood that well and would grow a multitude of grape varieties, all with different characteristics. This approach will allow us to keep production going in the face of frost, drought and heatwaves.”
Outside of his day job, Gonnin also works at a centre for the study of vines trying to get those ancient Alpine grape varieties back into use. So far, it has been able to get 17 into France’s national catalogue, a necessary step for being able to cultivate them again.
“The other solution would be to look for grape varieties abroad, especially in other Mediterranean countries,” Ollat said. “An experimental vineyard was set up in Bordeaux in 2009 to evaluate 52 potential new varieties from France and abroad – Spain and Portugal in particular. It’s very promising.”
A third option is hybrid grape varieties, genetically modified in the laboratory to better resist drought or frost. “But this option hasn’t been studied much at this stage,” Ollat said, notably because of the cost.
Winegrowers have engaged in a variety of other experiments. Some are modifying the density of their plots to require less water, while others are thinking of purifying waste water to boost the irrigation systems. Others are attempting to shade the vines by planting trees. “There’s even the example of one vineyard which installed solar panels over the vines in such a way as to shade them while producing electricity,” said Nathalie Ollat.
A more extreme potential solution is just to move the vines somewhere more propitious. “Global warming will make some territories more suitable for growing vines,” Audeguin said.
“We’re already seeing such relocation initiatives on a small scale; they’ve been doing it in Brittany for example,” he went on. “This could be promising if there’s enough funding. That’s not to say we could be making Bordeaux in Brest [on the western coast of Brittany], but it does mean that new varieties of wine could be created.”
“The nature of the French wine industry is going to be completely different by 2050,” Ollat concluded. “And the precise nature of that change will be determined in part by the results of the experiments going on throughout the country. We could have irrigated vineyards in the south, others that have disappeared, as well as long-forgotten grape varieties brought back. Perhaps Burgundy wines will go from using one variety of grape to several varieties. And maybe we’ll have entirely new vineyards in entirely new places on top of that.”
This article was adapted from the original in French.
August 19, 2022 @ 9:20 am
So sorry about the flight cancellation! We’ve had to deal with that in the past. Your trip this year seems to have a hidden little imp upsetting all plans! At least the airline gave you differing options. I hope you can work it out. But at least you are in Paris! That makes everything tolerable!
August 19, 2022 @ 9:37 am
We’ll opt to leave a day early and then possibly have to spend the night in Newark if we can’t get our Delta flights changed to accommodate. I doubt that one! I had a neighbor who said about one of our trips, “The devil has gotten into it.” She was right then many years ago and I think the same applies this year. Stress is the number one worst thing for my stomach issues so here you go. Meet you tonight at 5pm at Metro Ecole Militaire.
August 19, 2022 @ 11:16 am
We have been hearing horror stories from so many people and reading in the news about airlines cancelling flights. One supposes it has to do with the flights not being full, so not enough profit for the airlines, but I believe this will only make people less willing to travel. Just try to envision the time when you are safely home and the rest is a memory. This year’s trip could make a great start for your sequel book, maybe “Somebody Else’s Paris”?
August 19, 2022 @ 11:25 am
Love your idea, Monica! Really clever!!
August 19, 2022 @ 11:19 am
Good luck with your apartment problems! The wine article was interesting. There is a good pharmacie on Rue Monge which might have been where you went. Last time I left Paris one of my Parisian friend suggested that I subscribe to the daily English version of Le Monde online. I did for just a few dollars a month and so enjoy getting another perspective, more world news and just keeping up with France. You may like it. And your hair looks nice😊
August 19, 2022 @ 11:26 am
Perhaps I should look into this. Merci!
August 19, 2022 @ 11:19 am
Adapting to constant change is not my strongest suit, so I feel your frustration. It is fortunate you got the airline change this far out. It allows you to make plans now rather than a day or two out. I’m sorry you’re having so much trouble with VRBO. We have used them all over the US with much success.
August 19, 2022 @ 12:23 pm
Maybe I should clarify by saying not to use VRBO in a foreign country!
August 19, 2022 @ 11:51 am
This trip reminds me of one chapter in your book. It started with Bernie fixing a plumbing issue, getting wet and dirty, at your house on travel day and then he ended up in the hospital in France. Stay strong guys, this shall pass!!
August 19, 2022 @ 12:22 pm
You are exactly correct on all fronts!
August 19, 2022 @ 11:51 am
Travel is always a challenge and certainly more so now with all the labor woes globally. I am so sorry you will have to cut your stay a day short! The article on the wine industry and climate change is very interesting! Science, cultural memory, and human ingenuity all working in different ways to keep the French wine industry alive. Now we need humans to work in similar ways to do their part to help reduce global warming. I just read about the horrible storms and high wind damage on Corsica and elsewhere in France and Italy causing evacuations and tragic deaths.
I hope your travel imp has done all its mischief and you have no more problems!
August 19, 2022 @ 12:22 pm
Merci! So do we!
August 19, 2022 @ 12:45 pm
Now Linda, you’re going to have to stop holding back and let us know what you really think. With as many moving parts as your trips have, I’m surprised that you’re able to make things work as smoothly as they do. But it does seem like the busy and full schedule during an extremely hot and uncomfortable summer may require a little cool down time. Didn’t y’all have some favorite lounges and air conditions lobbies that you would hang out in?
The adaptation of the wine industry is interesting. Pat
August 19, 2022 @ 12:49 pm
Linda,
You did not explain what the “unfortunate issue” you had to deal with your apartment that would cause you to feel like you might be part of a scam. Hope nothing serious. Very glad Natalie could help! Hang in there…”this too shall pass”!
Hugs to you both!
August 19, 2022 @ 8:22 pm
They now want a 6800 euro security deposit! Or be evicted on August 25!
August 19, 2022 @ 12:55 pm
I personally like the the hair color. Kudos, Bernie! We have a VRBO lake house reserved in Vermont, but I think we’re good. Charles has been communicating with the owner, who is also a photographer. She’s shared tips for the area. We’ve anAirB and B for our loft in Montreal. Got our fingers crossed. Our flight departures have already changed twice – with with layovers now in Detroit and LaGuardia before finally in Canada. If all else fails, we’ll just leave earlier and drive , as we did last year to MN. 😏 Really appreciate the climate article.
August 19, 2022 @ 1:41 pm
Linda and Bernie, sorry about your flight cancellation. On our Le Compagnie flight home on 15 August, we noticed a lot of seats were empty. I’d guess about 1/3 of the seats empty. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise staying a night in Newark. You likely will not be quite so tired when you get back to Huntsville. We were pooped when we got back home here in Arizona without a break in the travel. — It seems to me I used to recover from long travel days more quickly??
August 19, 2022 @ 4:18 pm
Keep Bernie on the payroll- your hair looks great!! And much luck with the flight back- just drink wine en route😉
August 19, 2022 @ 6:32 pm
On any of your trips to a pharmacy, have you ever tried Biafine? (Biafine Emusion pour appplication cutanée). I understand it is a staple in the medicine cabinets in France. I always stock up when I’m in Paris. Apparently it was developed as a treatment for burns, but turned out to be so hydrating that French women often use it for a moisturizer. I have tried it for both burns (kitchen and sun) and as a moisturizer and love it. You can order it online in the US, but it is really expensive. In a French pharmacy it is around 7 euros.
August 19, 2022 @ 7:06 pm
Hoping the travel gremlins are done with you!
August 19, 2022 @ 7:42 pm
You know you have a good (no, great!) partner when he will help color your hair!
I share my life with just such a man!
So sorry for the unexpected difficulties you two have faced this summer, but thankful for the good times too! I see much joy in your photos!
Thanks again for sharing it all with us!
August 19, 2022 @ 10:21 pm
Linda, sorry to hear the difficulties. Rachel is leaving France for certain. She’s accepted her old job back with DCAA in NOVA. Health, and the inability of the French health system to deal with her problem are a main reason, but climate change is a large reason also. They sold their restaurant in the Alps because of it. At times, the temps at their house in the mountains has been higher than Monte Sano. The heat has wrecked the tourist industry in the Alps. The contrasting pix are striking – mountains normally snow-clad year-round are bare and glaciers morphed into streams. Since you confessed for Bernie, I’ll confess to giving Liz a hand with hair also. The return is she’s been cutting my hair since the plague hit… 🙂
August 20, 2022 @ 4:21 am
So sorry to hear about the situation with Rachel’s restaurant. These are difficult times and I’m afraid will only get worse. The USA is in a state of denial, I fear. Kudos to you for helping Liz!!
August 21, 2022 @ 2:36 am
Bernie might earn that security deposit if he’d take in clients! He did a fine job with your color!!