Calm before the storm

Five minutes walk from our friends' house, I fiound myself here. What the photo doesn't capture is the heat, the smell of the lavender, and the sound of the cicadas in the trees and the bees on the flowers. 

After a laid-back morning with our friends, we tried to drive back to see the World Cup Final in Malissard, but only got as far as Bollene before kick-off. Not knowing the place, we were lucky enough to find a bar with a big TV which wasn't full. After the thrilling game, the streets were invaded by cars blaring horns with folk waving flags out of the windows [see extra] and managed to escape the town before the route out was blocked by cars of celebrating fans.