15 August 2008

Freezer to the oven

When the decision was made that we needed to get to the US to see Valerie’s uncle we booked flights out of Roma for the next day and quickly packed for our trip. Being that it was mid summer and all the forecasts for Washington, DC had us expecting hot weather we packed accordingly. This was a mistake.

I felt cold most of the time I was in the US, despite the hot and humid weather outside. We were inside the majority of the time in a hotel, the hospital or restaurants and subjected to the full power of American air conditioning. I guess after three summers in Italy I have adjusted to minimal use of air conditioning as I found myself constantly chilled; despite the fact I wore long pants most of the time. On one occasion in a grocery store I huddled by the rotisserie display to fight the cold air blowing from the ceiling vents.


I arrived back in Roma to heat and humidity. The skies are muggy and the August sun is blaring. The temperature in our apartment approaches the low 80’s, a marked difference from the mid-sixties indoor temperatures experienced in the US.


Today is ferragosto, the big summer holiday in Italy where everyone heads to the beach. Ascoli Piceno looks like a ghost town with everyone at the coast and shops closed for ferie. I have not seen many of our friends since returning as they are out of town on vacation, most will return in a week.


The weather forecasts call for cooler temperatures this weekend…we’ll see.

3 comments:

Barbara said...

The constantly freezing temps were something our Italian friends complained about when they visited the states last fall. I remember always having a jacket in the car, even in the summer, for trips to the mall or an afternoon at the movies. AC can be nice, but does it ALWAYS have to be SO cold?

Gil said...

Time to head to the beach and cool off in the surf with the rest of your town. I live in the US and really need a/c but some of the stores really overdo it even for me.

Bryan said...

There was an article in the USA Today while we were in DC about the AC being too cold in the US, I should have kept that one.

I prefer the mountains as it is cooler and a lot less crowded.