My husband wore his shorts (decent walking length) all over southern Italy (Amalfi coast) two weeks ago, and no one hissed at him. Yes, we were in some fairly touristy areas, but still it was hot. He did change to long pants for dinner, but seriously, we saw shorts at the beach cafes as well. No hissing, tho.

Logos, put your judgmental, sneering attitude in the freezer where it belongs.

I've lived without AC for decades, both in Europe and the U.S.. But I still like to have it when I'm on vacation for a variety of reasons.

Some people are more sensitive to heat...my 80 yo mother, for example, is able to be active much more during the day on our travels if she has AC in the hotel. Yet she does NOT use her AC at home.

Another friend of mine was undergoing cancer treatment when she took a much needed break with me in Europe. The cancer and its treatment were playing a number on her body, she was much more sensitive to heat than she'd been before.

If people like AC in their hotels that is THEIR choice and the last thing they need is your constant childish snotty little digs for choosing to do things differently from you. GROW UP. It's past time you realized there's more to good manners than saying hello to strangers in a hotel breakfast room.

Why is it that wherever Logos999 pops up there's a cyber-brawl????

Because some of ther regulars can't stand someone stating the simple facts, when they need to be right as the "ultimate expert" on all foreign countries and traditions. :D
And yes, A/C is bad for the environment too, tons of energy wasted and should be "banned" just as we've done with soda cans. :D

Socaltraveler: My husband tells me that I was hissed at because we were in a very conservative part of Sicily in an open air market with locals only. I guess they don't see a lot of tourists, let alone a lot of mid thigh length shorts! Hey I was in my 20's and it was my first trip abroad, what did I know! I do recall that the old woman that hissed at me had a black shawl on her head and was covered from wrist to ankle in mid summer, I guess I kind of had that coming. My husband was horrified and made me go change in the car! Looking back now, a dozen trips later, I should have known better. However, I agree, for the most part, shorts are just fine for most of Italy!

Greetings all - I've just returned from a cruise to Italy with stops in Naples, Livorno and Civit-something! :) Yes, it is/was VERY HOT. 95-98 degrees during the 3 days there. Take plenty of water w/you while touring. We didn't stay in Naples, rather took the ferry (very easy to understand) & sent to Sorrento for the short amt of time we had. Lovely place -one that merits a return trip! Livorno was just as quaint...one thing books/guides may not tell you is on TUESDAYS it's the open marketplace with vendors from all over selling some of the biggest and freshest fruits & veggies I've ever seen! Clothing, meats, fish, cheeses, etc there too! Too bad we couldn't take any of it back to the states with us cuz I most certainly would!!

Its Civitavecchia, means "old city"

A/C is not bad for you! Anyway - what does bad for you mean? It filters the air that comes into the room, so if there is smog or dust, it gets cleaned. People with respiratory problems do much much better with A/C than with fans which actually blow all the dust around.

I don't live in a hot climate; I'm from NYC; but in the summer yup it gets hot! Do too many stores/restaurants put the A/C on too high? You bet. I don't want to freeze, just cool of. But A/C doesn't make one sick. Silliness.

Has everyone forgotten the heat wave of about 2-3 years ago in Europe where all those grandmothers died in their Paris apartments while the children went on their August vacation? Think that would have happened if they had A/C, or if their darling children had taken them with them?

Does the title refer to the weather
or the anger stirred up by pro/con
A/C Fodorites?

I'm just back from Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre, Rome for two weeks. Venice was hot and humid, Rome and Florence hot. Cinque Terre had great breezes and cooled down at night.
Wore capri pants, sleevless blouses took a long scarf for churches. No problem. Saw teenagers, 20-30's in shorts: men and women. Saw many wearing light long skirts with cool tops. Saw the shorts at dinner as well. It was hot, Italians were wearing things to stay cool too.

It is interesting as two nights ago I had a long phone conversation with a dear friend that lives in the Region of Veneto..about one hour north of Venice. Her husband owns an insurance agency. Their area was hit by terrible storms and hail. Many of her husband's insurance clients have serious damage to their roofs due to the hail storms. They also had a toronado come through their area.
Italy has microclimates.

And Cymraeg46's suggestions are such good thoughts when the weather is so hot and so humid. Personally when the weather is hot and humid I prefer dresses/skirts but that is just my opinion.

<<Personally when the weather is hot and humid I prefer dresses/skirts but that is just my opinion.>>

I agree LI. Breezes sneak up a skirt and cool you. I don't really understand why people who wear shorts think they make them feel cooler. In essence they're just like pants with the legs cut off. As noted by a poster above who wears linen, linen pants or crops also keep me comfortable. I too put up with the wrinkles because I love the fabric!

Hello there Giovanna, I am another lover of linen. And as you know many Italians wear linen.

I don't even wear shorts at home. For some reason I have never cared for them. The exception was when we were on our boat in the Delta.

I don't like that feeling of bare legs on chair seats etc.

Hope you two and also your Matt are doing all right. It was cooler here today, only 99 degrees, lol. And although the sky is still smokey there wasn't the horrible smell of smoke in the air.

i always get a little nervous when a german starts to strongly 'suggest' what is right for the whole world.

if temperature changes between aircon and outdoors makes people sick, then we can equally say that going outside makes people sick. why blame it on aircon? if people just stay indoors comfy in their aircon, then nobody would get sick. did your witch doctor present you with this lifestyle choice?

>if people just stay indoors comfy in their aircon, then nobody would get sick.
Yes, that's correct, as far as humidity levels are in the normal range and the A/C isn't spreading germs all over the place, like many do!

In that case it is just a waste of energy and increased environmental pollution.

Cymraeg46,

We're back. My two teenagers thank you very much. After reading your initial post, I had them replace most of the pants in their suitcases with shorts (capris for my daughter). With the temperatures mostly in the 90s with just a couple of days in the 80s, the kids wore shorts practically the whole time, only changing to pants for dinner.

DH refused to pack shorts because the heat doesn't bother him enough to want to wear shorts.

During the day, I wore mostly linen (loose, flowing pants) and 3/4 sleeve tops (either linen or some gauzy material), and was quite comfortable. Not so during the times when I wore knit tops. I lugged around lightweight umbrella and shamelessly whipped it out when the heat got to be too much as we were trudging along the Forum and the Colosseum.

Of course, there were frequent stops for cold bottled water and gelato.

Ummm, one of things air con does is drastically reduce humidity in the air. It's why you're told to drink lots of water on planes. If you're the kind of person whose lungs are sensitive to that, air con can indeed make you sick, especially if you sleep with it on. Not to mention people who get muscle and joint stiffness from exposure to drafts (like, having cold air blow on you from a single source, which is what most air cons are in European hotel rooms).

Nobody needs to apologize for feeling better using air conditioning, but to toot "how silly! air con DOESN"T make people ill" is ignorant.

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question...8063235AAt6EwD

The risks of illness and injury from heat far outweigh risks from air conditioning, but people who do better without air conditioning should be listened to when talking about their own bodies.