To dread this holiday

[Numberedout]

Posting here for traffic.

I'm having a meltdown and posting on here as have noone in real life that would understand.

Have ME/CFS, am perimenapausal,.

We have a train journey from the UK to Italy booked this week with a stop to Paris on the way. I have checked the weather and it's going to be the hottest it's been this year.

I'm travelling with teens and honestly am driving everyone crazy by stressing about the heat!

I have done the following:

Bought cooling towels, hats, loose clothes

Taking a hand held fan

Will get a hot water bottle to fill with cold water and put in the fridge.

Has anyone done this sort of holiday and enjoyed it despite the heat?

Take babywipes in a cool bag with cool packs. Very good!!

You could get one of those fans that go round your neck, they're very good! Better than hand held I think, especially if you've got suitcases/tickets/passport already in your hand.

Get some of those squishy ice packs. Take a freezer bag to keep them in so you can get them one at a time/as needed. These will be better than a hot water bottle, if you are taking a hot water bottle freeze it, cold water is not going to stay cold long enough.

Take two bottles of water one to drink straight away and a frozen one.

Drink lots.

Wear Suncream.

Don't stress, it'll only make you hotter and isn't going to change the weather forecast.

Thought you were going to say you are too tired to go on holidays! Lol

I hate the heat. My tips would be neck fan, iced water, don't move but crucially DO NOT CHECK THE TEMPERATURE.

Wear loose cotton and linen. Comfortable sandals for feet. Get a fan. Go to local markets and wear what the locals are wearing. You can always tell the Brits abroad by the dingy grey sportswear and clumpy trainers.

Trains are a very civilised and comfortable way to travel. The best way I’d say. And won’t they be air conditioned?

@Raindropsandroses123 that too! I'm too shattered already!

YANBU because central & southern Europe is always hot in summer. Hope you didn't make the mistake of researching using Wikipedia which inexplicably claims Italy is 23C-25C in summer and that's simply not true.

It's irrelevant whether it's a heatwave because you have to assume it's always 27C-38C in France and Italy during July. The fact there's a heatwave will only make a marginal real difference. You just have to take the same precautions like drinking lots of water, staying in the shade, applying suncream etc. Teens can take care of themselves, much easier than travelling with small kids or babies.

Trains should be fine as they have aircon. Not sure about the Metro in Paris, that could get uncomfortable. Italy should be better because it's built for heat and you don't feel it as much. Shops are closed during siesta and people tend to go out at night and stay up late.

Will the train have air con? Hope so!
But you have my sympathies- a few years ago I booked a mini break for me and my tween kids to Rome in July. Nice hotel, tours and day trips booked. What I didn’t check was the weather. It never got below 36 degrees. OMG. My son refused to leave the hotel at one point so my DD and I walked to a nearby church to look around and the Trevi Fountain which was all we could handle that day.
Our tour of the Colosseum and Palatinate Hill (over four hours) was a test of endurance and the walk back to the hotel I thought I was going to die from heat exhaustion. Then day trips booked to Pompeii and Mt Vesuvius- I certainly did not make it to the top! I also forgot the sunscreen but a fellow tourist rescued us.
The kids said it was one of the best holidays though (they were not as affected by the heat as me, plus a fantastic gelateria was next to the hotel), but never again will I go on a site seeing tour in a city in that heat. You will enjoy it and there’s nothing you can do about the heat so stop stressing about it. Keep hydrated (take electrolyte drinks too).

Not a holiday but I live in a place where usual summer temperatures are high 20s-35 with occasional hotter heat waves. You do get used to it but until then all you can do is plan your time around it and make sure you’re indoors/sitting in the shade from about 12-4, and if you do go out wear a hat etc. Make sure to eat and drink. The eating is important because you lose salt when you sweat and it’s not good to drink too much without replacing the salt.

French trains are mostly air conditioned so that part should be ok.

Don’t know if this helps but I did some train travel couple of summers ago within Italy and actually found the aircon on the trains was pretty good. Try to book reserved seats on trains. So you know you won’t be standing. Also eurostar is all air con. It’s the waiting at stations that is the worst bit. That is when ice creams/gelato help. 😉

@Sasssquatch I hope you are right. I have never travelled like this before. My kids love race across the world so wanted an adventure rather than travel on a plane like normal civilised people. I can't believe I gave in. Yes, the trains should be air conditioned.

The train is a v pleasant way to travel when it’s hot - largely air con etc.

Embrace and modify European timings - early breakfast, just after dawn walks, long snoozes in the midday, etc

Find museums, cafes, galleries, craft activities, botanical gardens vs sunbathing spots

Cool showers / pool time as you need

don’t try and see all the sights in one go - enjoy what you can but don’t force more than that

eat earlier/later and lighter - yes you’ll want to sample all the lovely pastas etc but sharing between yourself with fresh salads alongside (‘family-style’) will make you feel far better. Some days fruit and charcuterie nibbles do down far better than a meal out

expect that your teens might feel the heat differently to you and be patient with each other if you can

and have a lovely time!

This is the best type of holiday, I’m excited for you!
Europe has air con everywhere! You be fine! Have the best time 🙃 I’m so jealous

And yes I did 3 weeks of this with a ten year ten years ago 🙃 it was HOT 🔥

@mondaytosunday that's exactly how I am imagining the holiday to be! I have cut out a lot of stuff I wanted to do for that reason and have just booked the Colosseum for Rome and the orsey museum in Paris. Would have loved to do more but don't want to die in the process. Thanks for the reminder on electrolytes.

Take a UV parasol. They were a life saver for me in Italy last summer.

DH and I have taken trains extensively across Asia and Europe. In Europe these are v clean and comfortable. There is info on seat61 on what sort of train quality to expect and sometimes it is worth the upgrade.

pack your snacks well - especially more water than you think is reasonable (2l each!) fresh fruit etc. I usually take a beach sarong and some claw hair clips with me EVERYWHERE as they can make a privacy screen/ shade for the window etc

and don’t rely on wifi! Maybe have 1-2 films downloaded but try and enjoy the scenery. We always pack a puzzle book, pack of cards, and maybe a mini game or two (we like hanabi especially)

sounds basic but think about what side of the train you’ll be sitting on - it’ll prob be cooler on the north side if that makes sense

Your holiday sounds amazing op

Sorry to ask but why did you book a train trip to Italy in July? Without a heatwave it’s always very hot!!

The good news is that trains normally have AC so it's probably the best way to see the view. Long distance trains also have a bar with cold drinks.

Paris has lots of drinking fountains so you can fill up your bottles. They're often green cast iron with nymphs. Art galleries are normally climate controlled so skip the sight seeing and go straight for culture.

You'll be fine, just take it slow. Have a nap in the middle of the afternoon, have coffee and cake when you wake up, then eat dinner on a terrace at 9 when it's cooled down, like the locals do.

Yes, lovely trip. It’s normal temperature for summertime, dress in thin loose fabrics but take layers as weather changes and cools at night. Remember it gets dark earlier the further south you go so walk about after dark

@Donnaitaliana it's the only time I could have a proper holiday as kids have just finished their A level and GCSE exams. I wanted to treat them (and myself) after what has been a stressful year.
I thought that by booking before the uk summer school holidays I may save a bob or two. However, the trains are costing three times the cost of flights 😑

Plenty of water, cloth that can be soaked in water for your head, I'd put the hot water bottle in the FREEZER and take the block of ice with you, and then once of those USB rechargeable fans so you can plug it in and recharge it.

You'll be fine!

Thank you all for the reassuring replies. I feel marginally better now. 😊

Being in pain with a chronic condition really affects your view of things. I should be more grateful I guess.

I'm off to buy a neck fan and a UV parasol.