​Heatwave in Rome: Summer Travel, Nostalgia, Memory, and an American Reflection on Change

We’re having a heatwave, a tropical heatwave.
That lyric, written by Irving Berlin, later found its way into M*A*S*H, and it feels especially fitting today. It was sung in two episodes, including “No Sweat” and “None Like It Hot,” where the 4077th coped with sweltering weather the only way they could: with humor, music, and a little bit of grit. That, too, is what we do in extreme weather. We adapt. We endure. We keep going.
Welcome to the first day of the second half of the year.
Yes, it is Wednesday again, and back to the trials and tribulations of travel, weather, and the daily grind of life. Yesterday was supposed to be my last English lesson for the summer, but my student could not make it. Still, there was a bright side: it got me out of the house, something I had not done since the previous Thursday because of the heat. It was early enough to be manageable, but the story of the day, the week, the month, and really the whole summer, is the heat and the dangers that come with it.

Rome Heatwave Travel Tips for Summer in Europe
One of the things I have learned by living here is that the buildings of Europe, while beautiful and historic, were built for a different time and a different climate. Solid stone walls were made to keep heat in during the winter, and when summers were milder, people could simply open the windows and let fresh air move through. That is not the reality now.
Heat extremes are blanketing much of Europe, with recorded temperatures reaching up to 115 degrees F, or 46 degrees C, in Paris and near 100 degrees F, or 38 degrees C, here in Rome. We are now going into the seventh week of intense heat, with no end in sight and daily highs holding around 35 to 37 degrees C. This is not just uncomfortable. It affects how people live, how they work, and how they travel.
Fortunately, I have air conditioning. Many homes here do not, and that is partly because of cost and partly because it was never really part of the culture in the same way it is elsewhere. That is changing, slowly, as people find new ways to deal with these extremes in daily life and in travel.
Most modern hotels and buildings in major cities do have air conditioning, but smaller places may not. Travelers need to keep that in mind, especially in the summer months when planning a trip to Italy or anywhere else in Europe.

I understand now why the Romans leave Rome in the summertime, especially in August. But it is only July, which means there may be another eight weeks of this ahead. I am glad I have air conditioning, and perhaps next year I will make different choices about living conditions. Still, this heatwave is not just a European issue. It has hit, or will hit, America too. The western hemisphere is not immune.
I read a comment online that 115 degrees F, or 46 degrees C, is normal in Las Vegas. I have been there in the summer, and yes, you can practically fry an egg on the pavement. I have also been to Death Valley in my younger years, and while the heat was fierce, the dry heat was not as hard to endure. Here in Europe, it is not just the heat. It is the humidity too. As we age, that combination becomes harder and harder to deal with.
That is one reason I could never live in the American South. The heat and humidity together are too much for me. But here I am in Rome, and that is exactly what we are dealing with, and it seems to be getting worse.

I realize that is not what everyone wants to hear. I have said before that Rosa says Rome is closed in August, mostly because the Romans get out of Dodge. Really, it is a city that even Romans leave behind during the hottest part of the year, heading for the mountains or, more often, the beaches. The Tyrrhenian Sea is only about an hour away, and the Adriatic is not that far either, depending on where you are headed.
​School is out, many businesses are already shifting into an early summer rhythm, and life is adjusting to the weather earlier than it used to. Historically, that slowdown was more of an August story. Now it feels like it begins in July.
So, if you are coming to Rome, or to other parts of Italy and Europe in general, please be prepared for the weather extremes this time of year. Go out early or later in the afternoon. Carry plenty of water. Wear a hat. Use an umbrella for shade. These small precautions matter. We want to see you, and we are happy to welcome you here in the Eternal City and beyond. Have you ever planned a trip around the weather and been grateful you did?

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Nostalgia, the Bicentennial, and Memories of 1976
The other worthy note on this first day of July is that back across the pond, America is preparing to celebrate its 250th anniversary this weekend. That number brings back memories of being 14 years old during the bicentennial celebration in 1976. Of course, I was only 14, but it was a memorable time. The history train came around to share the stories, and for the record, it was also an amazing year in rock and roll.
Can you name some of the bands and songs from 1976? I can. One of the first that comes to mind is Boston with “More Than a Feeling.” What songs instantly take you back to another time in your life?
I know this does not have to do with travel in the narrowest sense, but it is history, culture, and nostalgia, all of which are part of the travel experience and part of who we are. Fifty years ago, 1976 felt like a celebration of possibility and identity. Fifty years later, I find myself looking at the country of my birth with a very different set of feelings.

America, Memory, and Reflection from Across the Pond
I am now almost two years removed from being in America. On July 4th, this coming Saturday, it will mark two years since I arrived in Rome to live. Watching the “civil war,” as I see it, unfold in my birth country from across the ocean is unsettling. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship, and mail in voting, and that matters deeply. I am still, and always will be, a U.S. citizen, even as a resident here in Italy. I have every right to vote from afar, to speak my mind, and to protest in my own way what is happening across the pond.
​It troubles me deeply that the country is being torn apart at a time when it should be reflecting on what it has meant, and what it still might mean, to so many people around the world. The United States has never been perfect. It was, and is, a flawed experiment. But it was also a beacon of hope, a place where people from all over the world came seeking a better life, including both of my grandfathers, who came from Poland and Hungary respectively about 100 years ago.
What would they think now? What would the founding fathers think? I do not believe they would look kindly on the current events of the day or on what the current regime is doing. I am a proud American, but I am not proud of what is happening.

Every American of age has the right to vote, and that is what needs to be done in November to change the course of history and avoid the demise of something that should not be dying. There is an historical truth that democracies tend to last about 250 years on average. I do not want to see that become America’s fate.
I may lose readers. I may lose potential clients. But I am tired of sitting on the sidelines and only speaking in vague generalities about the geopolitics of the world while pretending it does not affect me here across the pond. It does affect me. It affects all of us in different ways.
The Europeans are not upset with the average American traveler, and they welcome them. I know that from traveling this continent. They know the difference between the people and the Casa Bianca. Americans are welcome here, and I will always have your back when you travel across the pond, or anywhere else in the world, or even within America itself. What does America mean to you now, and how has that meaning changed over time?
So yes, I am speaking plainly now.
I am not silent anymore. 
Thank you for your support of my business these many years and remember, “Travel is an Adventure, Experience it!”       

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