wren

There were people all over Provence last week in shorts, capris, and sleeveless tops...it looked like anywhere I have been in the States when it is beastly hot.

Lewis

Just back from 2 weeks in Italy. Rome and the Amalfi coast (Positano) were brutal! High to mid 90's with 80% humidity everyday. Thank god we had ythe beach after days of sweaty sightseeing. It rained a little in Amalfi for about 10 minutes but did not drop the humididty only made it worse ;-(

The Riviera and Tuscany were absolutely beautiful, mid 80's and "aria fresca" (sp). Getting my notes together for a quick trip report.

Katherine

I am sorry about the heatwave that you are having. Hopefully things will cool of for you. Sounds like some of my fellow Texans brought the weather with them to Europe....

DiAblo

I live in Kanzas (105 yesterday, mega-humidity, and a 40 mph sirroco wind). I just spoke with a friend in Gorleston-On-Sea (Great Yarmouth). He said he'd just gotten back from Norwich at 87 degrees and people were "gasping". At his home near the North Sea it was a fine 80 degrees. "A really lovely day, mate..."

Ursula

Hot, hot all over Switzerland.
Forecast for tomorrow some 95F (35C) and humid. Ugh...

Guest_User

Oh my gawd what about the chocolates?! Who will save all the beautiful chocolates from the non-airconditioned sweet shops?? :'(

Peep

Around 6 this evening in Munich I saw a temp sign saying it was 31 (86?). It didn't seem so hot to me but I'm from Texas and honestly, it didn't feel too bad. We have a/c at work but I did notice when I was in a department store this evening that it was a bit stuffy. It totally flips me out that grocery stores around here either don't have a/c or it doesn't work very well!

sardog10

We're in Germany over near the Luxembourg and French borders. It's just after 10 at night here and a lovely 77 degrees. Supposed to be mid-90's again tomorrow but with low humidity and a nice breeze. I love the warm spell this time (June was really humid and hot) but my son is upset because I can't find any Kindereggs in our local villages; they kept melting in the stores so they've pulled them off the shelves!

ira

Hi BT,

>But I REALLY feel sorry for our troops in Iraq--not only is it hotter than here, with no airco, they have to be in full uniform and body armor. May they all find some cool relief soon!<

I guess great minds do think alike.
[-o<

BTilke

Well...it was a hot, muggy night, not at all good for sleeping. Thunderstorms are expected to roll in sometime today.
Apparently they had huge thunderstorms last night in Bordeaux, with winds nearly 100 mph, and dangerous lightning. Hope that hasn't affected the grapes...

LVSue

We have had 8 straight days at 46 C (that's 115 F), but it's a dry heat.

No, we couldn't survive without A/C (mine's set at 26/80 to try to keep the power bill down), but the heat is still very draining and debilitating.

I sympathize totally with those suffering in the European heatwave--no A/C makes it relentless indeed. I remember seeking out Le Drugstore in Paris because it had A/C and in Provence wearing a sundressy housedress never meant to be worn in public (only down the hall to the bathroom) day after day. Or in the Madrid hotel, where the water was turned off at night, filling up the bathtub before going to bed so I could dunk in it when I woke up sweltering in the middle of the night.

Hope it breaks for you soon! We are supposed to be down to 40/103 by Sunday!

hanl

Parts of the UK are experiencing some of the highest temperatures ever recorded - hotter than the Costa del Sol and parts of Southern France, and yet some people reckon it's "not a big deal"? Of course it's a big deal!!

It's certainly a big deal when you're used to living in a country where temperatures of 17 degrees C are considered positively balmy

Florence

Bonjour Everybody,

Yes, it is hot in Europe, but we have all those lovely terrasses where we can gulp huge glasses of ice-cold beer while making fun of all those American tourists looking frantically for air-conditionned places and despairing to ever find a waiter who will bring them enough glass cubes in their coke ;-)

Gest User, don't worry about the chocolate, I know my duty and it won't have time to melt !

allovereurope

I'm just sitting indoors all day with fans on and curtains CLOSED! The sun being up from 5 am til 10 pm does not help matters much! I've found that the grocery store is airconditioned, and the freezer section is particlarly comfy at the grocery store. The only problem is that it's crowded and everyone stinks from sweating all day.

melr

OK fellow Fodorites, get your thinking caps on:

Saw on the BBC News website that London Mayor, Ken Livingstone, is offering 100,000 pounds if someone can come up with a method of cooling the London Underground!

It's not so easy, apparently, as bolting on Air-Con units onto the trains: the excess heat generated in the tunnels would be hazardous.

Even when it's not so hot, the temps in the Tube are apparently regularly above 30C (and I can well believe it)

See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3069037.stm

lilybart

We arrived in London on Monday. We're staying in dorm rooms (I'm here for a conference) that are like small, hot shoeboxes. I was freezing in Scotland last summer, so brought more sweatshirtsa nd sweaters this year. Big mistake! Luckily, we got a little rain this afternoon, so we're all hoping that we'll sleep better.

dln

DH, who grew up in the UK, commented that over there 75 degrees is considered a veritable heat wave. All he could say was "Poor sods!"

Are the pubs doing more business with people especially wanting to quench their thirst?

Sylvia

We have rumblings of thunder in Cheshire at the moment and I want some rain for my poor garden.
Not quite on the subject but I worked in the US in a building with huge windows. One day the air conditioning broke down and we nearly died. Just imagine what that building consumed in heating and cooling.
While we were there we visited a restored 18th century village and visited the meeting house. It was very cool and pleasant although it had no air conditioning. The walls were several feet thick and it had small windows. Perhaps the people in those days knew a thing or two.

Kavey

I'm so melted there's a puddle of Kavey... and it's really hard typing when you're just protogoo!

gb

It's almost 100 in Colorado for 3 days and at least one more to go. We have the "dry" heat too. We have friends from Belgium here this week, and they are dying (so to speak) from the heat. Guess it'so better back home.