Florence, Italy....are we mad?

[Hairydogmummy]

We're booked to fly to Tuscany on Thursday to stay in a lovely villa with pool belonging to a colleague of DH but there turns out to be no aircon and in this heatwave?!! I've only just found this out. I'm worried about the whole trip but especially all the sightseeing we've booked on Saturday in Florence. We could still cancel this day trip at least without losing money. I've never been to Italy and was so excited to see and do as much as possible. DH colleague has advised us to just stay around the pool. WWYD? My DSD18 and DS 19 are coming with.

We were in Tuscany. (45 minutes by train south of Florence) a few weeks ago. It was 38 on several days. Our Villa did have air conditioning but the bedrooms were downstairs and with the thick walls and keeping the shutters closed, we didn’t need to turn on the aircon in the bedrooms- they were lovely and cool.

Outside in the shade was not too bad, but far too hot to be in the direct sun. We alternated between pool and shade.

Florence was bearable up until early afternoon- with so many narrow lanes, there is a lot of shade. Where it was too hot was in the plazas where there was no escape from the sun.

There were a LOT of mosquitoes though! Loads and loads of the buggers. DH was eaten alive despite going through a bottle of spray every couple of days.

Would be a big fat no from me. Friends in Cyprus have aircon units but keep them off during the day as they are outside all day. They go on at night in the bedrooms. Without them it's like walking into an oven. No way in hell could I sleep without it. When it gets so hot, fans do nothing but circulate hot air around.

I would go as it sounds amazing. We have a house in North Africa with no ac at present . We could sleep on the terrace earlier this month.
My kids are between 2-8 and no one moaned about being too hot.

I am in currently in south of france and it is hot but bearable! Just need to drink water often

We have just come back from Rome and it was 38 degrees. When we first arrived at our hotel room, the air con wasn’t working and we just couldn’t stay in there. Sweat was already pouring off us and the lack of air con made it unbearable. Thankfully we were able to move rooms. The air con makes such a difference after being out in the heat. I guess having the pool will help, but it’s nice to being able to go into a cool area after being outside in the heat. It’s trying to sleep in the heat that will be the worst 🥵. Fans just circulate the hot air.

It’s going to be slightly cooler by Thursday I think, down to 38?

dd is currently in Milan which is about 37 and she’s trotting around sightseeing inc during the day. Mad dogs and English men and all that.

she’s catching the train down to Florence on Fri. Staying in a hostel with no air con. I’d certainly still go, inc the Florence sightseeing. Beautiful city.

I think you'd be crazy to cancel a free holiday in Tuscany!!
Go & be sensible. Enjoy having a break from the usual routine & bask in the beautiful tuscan scenery. Eat gorgeous Italian food. Stay in at the hottest parts of the day.
I'm red-haired & bluey white & hate the heat but I'd go in a heartbeat..

It’s extraordinary isn’t it. No such thing as domestic a/c a generation ago, Italy now spends more on cooling than heating, a stone farmhouse in the hills with a pool and posters are saying don’t go 🤦🏻‍♀️

Oh god this is all so depressing. Oil fuelled cooling heating the world…

your villa will be fine - built for the climate. Don’t go out in a metal box (ie a car) ever in the middle of the day. Stay in and have a lovely peaceful time

People are allowed to have different opinions!

I've stayed in France and Italy when it's pushing 40 degrees and I wouldn't want to be without air con. It would be far too hot to sleep comfortably, indoors or outside. A ceiling fan doesn't cut it; it just swishes hot air around the room. If I'm paying for flights somewhere I want to make sure I'm staying in comfort.

We just got back from Tuscany.

Things that worked well for us:

• get into the pool early morning. Out by midday and have a long lunch in the shade.
• have a siesta/get inside until at least 3pm or even later if you can.
• go out in the evening say from 5pm with loose clothing (full length sleeves and bottoms a la kaftan style).
• use a mosquito plug in and spray yourself in the evenings.
• drink lots of water.
• eat lots of ice cream.
• don't go sightseeing.
• wear a hat and sunglasses.
• use factor 30+ sun cream and reapply frequently.
• use a water spritzer on your face/neck.
• have a portable mini fan on your person.
• stay in the shade as much as possible!

I spent many summers in Tuscany in a house without Aircon. Just a fan. Sleep with a damp sheet at night near you. Have siestas. stay up late like the locals.

I've never stayed in a villa with air conditioning but they usually have thick walls, shutters and fans. Keep the heat out in the day ; have siestas . Go out first thing or in the evening and save Florence, which is a must, for the end of your holiday if you can. We had a holiday in France in awful temps , we adapted

No way could I cope. I was in DC a month or so ago and it was 33 and I found it unbearable to be outside. And that was with aircon everywhere.

I'm just pleased I'm going to Scandinavia.

I live in a similar climate and would absolutely advise against this. Where I am it's 36 degrees, we have air con and its still very unpleasant. My husband booked us an airbnb in an old cottage in Tuscany a few years ago. There was no air con and it was horrendous. Terrible. You can't even open the window at night as you get eaten alive by mosquitoes. Florence is a stunning city which is best explored in Spring or Autumn anyway. I've lived in hot climates for the best part of a decade and I would firmly advise against this.

I'd probably book myself into a cheap room with air con for the nights and join the family by the pool in the day if I couldn't get it refunded

Some of my family are Italian and live in Lucca which is close to Florence. They have been seriously struggling these last couple of summers and they’re used to the heat. This year is particularly bad even though they do have air con in a couple of their rooms. We only ever visit in April-June or September as I couldn’t cope with a ‘normal’ summer never mind the current heatwave.

Is there any chance your DH’s colleague would allow you to go another time?

Its such an amazing part of the world but I think with kids who aren’t great in the heat it could be really miserable and risk ruining the holiday. No one will sleep well and you can’t do your day trips.

Maybe he has space october half term or next spring?

Or get a one bed air bnb nearby and decamp there for the nights!!

I’m in Spain at the moment. It’s 40 - 42 degrees every day, 39
in the shade. It’s hot. Really hot. Indent think we’d be getting any sleep without the air con… it’s the only relief, really. It’s 10:20pm now and still 38 degrees, according to the pharmacy clock.

I’m all for making the best of things; but if you don’t cope well with the heat as a group, I don’t think I’d be testing the theory in a villa with no air con in the middle of an extreme heatwave.

It is in the 20s at night and mid to late 30s in the day. It's cooling down!

You will cope fine. As others have said, do as the Italians do. Pace yourselves.

Cancel, it's so hot it's not enjoyable even the pool is like a warm bath. There is no " it's warm when you get in" moment. At the pool we are at people are just standing in it, no relief. No morning stroll along the front, it's just to hot to enjoy. Freezing cold water in a insulated bottle in the shade is warm after an hour.

I think there are a lot of comments on here which are missing a key point.

no a/c in a hotel, particularly in a city = hell hot room
no a/c in an old farmhouse in countryside = cool.

Thick walled stone farmhouses with small windows and shutters are literally designed for this heat in pre a/c days.

so if you are not comparing like with like then it isn't relevant!