Haigh from Ireland – or – The Scorching Breezes of France

Beginning in April of 2022, my partner and I set sail on a transatlantic cruise from Florida, USA, to Barcelona, Spain, with plans of slow-traveling and backpacking through Europe while writing. 

The Summer of ’22 heat wave did not forget Ireland. The relatively sunny weather hovered in the upper 70’s, which is a wee bit unusual I hear.

In late July, after Mr. Rogers and I took a quick train trip to the south of France, not only did we encounter record-breaking temperatures, but also horrible fires near Bordeaux. It was disconcerting riding on a train that is enveloped in choking smoke with outside temps nearing 100 Fahrenheit.

Lourdes, Bayonne, and Bordeaux, France are all beautiful and interesting cities, but honestly, the crazy-hot temperatures made much of our exploration unbearable. Remember the Bayonne chocolate I was so excited about? Geez, better eat it fast or it will melt down your arm.

Imagine being in Lourdes, a humble city steeped in Basque culture. Picture a medieval town square joined to winding cobblestone streets, all lined with buildings constructed of stone, wood, and iron. We stayed the night in an old, quaint hotel.

On the fourth floor. No air conditioning. No fan.

Granted, there was a window I could dramatically sweep open, with a rolling sea of trees and delightful gabled rooftops. But there was absolutely no breeze, and the temperatures that day had soared above 100. That window stayed wide open all night and it occurred to me a bat could fly in. At that point, I didn’t care.

It was an interesting night. <choke, gasp>

On the upside, our escape (from the heat) into the UK was oh, so refreshing!

On August 1st, we boarded the Eurostar for a zippity trip under the English Channel. Initially, all went well until two of our connecting trains were canceled due to strikes. <Big sigh> So, we soon learned … exactly when are the UK trains not striking? I hear it’s quite common. Conveniently, they do announce intentions to strike. Being that we had freshly arrived in the country, we hadn’t heard the news and were subsequently caught up in the craziness. Crowded trains. Delays. Irate travelers. Missed hotel reservations.

Finally, as we traversed northern England and into Scotland, I can’t tell you how excited I was.

It. Was. Absolutely. Gorgeous!!!

And then…

I saw this person waving jubilantly from a hilltop. Ah, the Scottish are so friendly! But wait…what is he doing? He turned around to pull down his pants and…

...mooned the train. 

Aye, well, a good laugh was had by all!