You’ve no doubt heard that for the past week or so Europe has been in the grip of an intense heatwave. Apparently it’s been caused by a cloud of hot air that’s swept up from Africa. Not that people here care where it came from, they just want it to go away again.

It certainly is hot. The Italian government has issued red alerts for 18 cities, including many of those most popular with tourists. Florence, Milan, Venice and even Bologna, are on the list. Temperatures in those places have been up around the 40-degree mark which can be dangerous. A national helpline has been set up to provide advice and information on healthcare services.

We’ve been in the mountains in Abruzzo and Piedmont, so fortunately we’ve so far managed to avoid the worst of it. Though we have experienced a couple of 34-feels-like-36-degree days (and it’s certainly been hotter than that on a couple of trains we’ve caught along the way!)

Our home in Spoleto isn’t air-conditioned (automatic cars and air conditioning – not really ‘things’ in Italy), but it is in an old building with thick walls that maintain the inside temperature at a pretty comfortable level.

So having survived years of Brisbane summers, for us the last couple of weeks haven’t been too bad. Fingers-crossed that remains true for the week ahead. On a brighter note, the weather has provided us with a great excuse – as if we needed one – to eat even more gelato!