With the flat secured we had to start shopping for some essentials – like an oven, hob, washing machine and dishwasher as they are not included when you rent a flat in France. We also think it’s worth getting a new bed so trips to Darty, Boulanger and IKEA were in order.

Then it was off to price up some kitchen appliances.

The good news is they can be delivered and fitted quite quickly. But we realised we don’t know the flat number. We might just wait a few days until we have signed the contract and paid our deposit before we buy them all.

Another day, another swim – this time at Centre Nautique Tony Bertrand – an open-air 50m pool on the banks of the Rhône.

It being 36 degrees there were queues to negotiate once again.

But the prize looked good.

There is a fun pool for splashing around.

And a 50m Olympic pool – never swum in on one of those before – so did a quick kilometre.

And some funky architecture.

It was an enjoyable way to cool off on another sweltering day. We’ll be back.

Phew it’s hot! Cath suggested going to a local lake where there is a beach and a swimming area so we went – along with the rest of Lyon.

Like everyone else we headed for the shady spots – and there weren’t many left. As the thermometer reached 36 degrees I headed into the water to see if I could have my first proper swim in months.

The water was lovely and there was a clear stretch to swim across so I thought I’d try to do a proper distance. The fact is I enjoyed myself so much that I did 20 lengths of an area that must have been about 120m long and stayed in for over an hour!

By the time I got back to our shady area there was no more shade and it was time to move on.

We drove up to Le Mont d’Or to show Cath’s sister Sally, who is staying with us for a few days, how the other half live.

After two-and-half days of anxious waiting – and having largely given up hope – I just got the call to the say the flat is ours!

Our dossier won out over the rival six bidders. From 1 August we have a proper home.

One thing you see a lot of in Lyon is les moineaux – house sparrows. They are everywhere – even in the newsroom.

They are better than hoovers picking up all the crumbs on the floor.

And if you sit outside for lunch – well you are asking for it.

While driving to Sainte-Croix-En-Jarez we saw plenty of these signs. Next Friday the Tour de France is in town.

It’s stage 13 from Le Bourg d’Oisans to St Etienne. I’m off work that day – be nice to go and have a look.

Today we made our second attempt to visit Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez. The last time we tried it was closed off because of a car rally. But today we succeeded and it was worth the wait.

It was a hilltop monastery belonging to the Carthusians founded in 1280 until the French Revolution brought an end to that.

Who’s that watching on as the Duchess of Cambridge does her thing at Wimbledon?

While our dossier was being perused by a prospective landlord in Cours Franklin Roosevelt, we went for a walk around Limonest. While there we spotted another potential home.

I’ll ring the agents on Monday and get them on the case. It feels weird knowing someone is pouring over our payslips, tax returns and work contracts to decide whether we get to rent his flat. On verra.