HOT!

 It is hot. It is so hot. It is unpleasantly hot. It is excruciatingly, unbearably, godawful, curse-worthy hot. I thought 108 degrees wouldn't feel much different from 103 degrees, but it does. It feels much, much worse.  For a little amusement we slip outside periodically to watch Italians pull their petulant dogs down the street to do their business. The dogs do not like this activity. They rebel. They refuse to move. As I was being manicured the other day a woman pulled her pug into the shop where he instantly collapsed onto the cool tile floor.

I ruined three nails taking this picture, but I couldn't resist.  Harold and I are not stupid. We knew Florence would likely be hot in July. But hot and excruciatingly, unbearably, godawful curse-worthy hot are two different things. Every Italian we encounter has told us it has never been this bad for this long. But enough about the heat, let's talk about the dirt, shall we?

As I said in a past blog, the drought here is unprecedented. We have had four drops of rain in three months. Due to the water shortage car-washing is forbidden.  This is the rental car we received for our last field trip. 

And these are the cars that parked near us at the winery we visited.  Also, a car driving on the highway in front of us. It's truly lovely. Welcome to our future!

And speaking of cars, the taxi strikes have been super fun. The government wants to allow Uber into Italy. For obvious reasons the unionized taxi drivers do not want this to happen, so they go on strike every now and then without warning. Twice since we have been here. The first time we needed a cab to take us to our rental car location. No dice.  We managed to combine a bus ride with a walk, but on the way back there was no bus, so we walked an hour in stifling temperatures with our suitcases, but who's complaining? Today, they are striking again. My niece and her friend had to walk with all their luggage to the train station. A 25 minute walk in 107 degree heat. 

Despite the record-breaking heat, we spent a wonderful five days with Samantha and her friend, Danika. It was a rare and joyful opportunity to spend so much quality time with my sweet niece. I think youth makes a difference in dealing with steamy conditions. They were able to see much of what Florence has to offer.  We did not hover.  

Clearly, it is time to come home.  We miss our dog. We miss our friends. We miss our sofa and our bed and the beach and HBO and Apple TV.  We adore Italy. It will always have a special place in our hearts. But our friends and family occupy a much larger space.  We are beyond fortunate to have so many people in our lives whom we genuinely love. Time to return to them.  Right after we take our final jaunt...to Cinque Terre for two days.  The weather there is 82!  Surely that will make for a much cheerier blog next week!