Summer in Tuscany and I'm hot and bothered. Since temperature remains over 30 degrees. For weeks. Inside our house. Summer in Tuscany and my Tuscan native is constantly grumpy. Since the construction sites he works in and the roofs he climbs upon are definitely under the Tuscan sun. It's summer in Tuscany and our two kids are endlessly bickering. Since - autumn, winter, spring and summer - that's just what they like to do.
Once dreaded August 15 is on the horizon - and with it Ferragosto hell - our ill tempered little family leaves the touristy hill towns and jellyfish invaded beaches behind and happily drives off to a better life. In Switzerland. Where temperatures drop and rain fall starts the moment we cross the border. And all we'll remember of the crowded, irritating and unbearably hot Tuscan summer is this.
Once dreaded August 15 is on the horizon - and with it Ferragosto hell - our ill tempered little family leaves the touristy hill towns and jellyfish invaded beaches behind and happily drives off to a better life. In Switzerland. Where temperatures drop and rain fall starts the moment we cross the border. And all we'll remember of the crowded, irritating and unbearably hot Tuscan summer is this.
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| Contemplative Cappuccinos before the heat sets in |
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| and early evenings at Fiumara beach |
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| mornings spent collecting tomatoes from my synergyistic garden |
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| or at the much more successful neighbors |
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| solitary Sunday lunches in search of shade and a fresh breeze |
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| and crowded evenings to join Tuscany's summer music festival season |
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| afternoons spent wearing hats, whether in Rome... |
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| or during hot city breaks in Florence |
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| swims at favorite Maremma beaches |
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| in freezing mountain rivers... |
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| or just hours spent under the cold garden shower |
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| evenings with ice cream and prosecco at the local bar |
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| remembering childhood summers |
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| followed by nights out on town doing this |
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| or this |
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and sunsets in Siena
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