misery loves company: the july heat exchange

Not long after we arrived in Italy, Italians started warning us about July and August. The heat! The humidity! It will be the worst you've ever experienced, they told us.  After surviving a mix of summers in Washington, D.C. and Kentucky, we couldn't imagine a fate more worse than the humidity hell of these two spots. The Florentines assured us it would be worse. Confession: we didn't and still don't believe them.

To help solve the dispute, we've asked our friend Scott to keep us posted on the weather back in Louisville. Also, for those keeping score*:

Florence, Italy Temp: 99° F Feels like: 99° F Humidity: 35%

Louisville, Kentucky Temp: 90° F Feels like: 109° F Humidity: 75%

Sure, Florence has a higher raw score, but you feel the pain much worse in Louisville. The verdict? Safe to assume Louisville is worse today.

*Temps pulled from Weather.com at 10:30 a.m. in Louisville / 4:30 p.m. in Florence

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When Rob initially proposed the idea for writing about the heat in Kentucky I told him it was unusually mild and only in the upper-80s (Fahrenheit) which is like driving a Ferrari 100 mph(160 kmh) when it can go 180 mph(289 kmh). The next week the temperature spiked to the upper- 90s (Fahrenheit) with a humidity hovering at 60%. The best thing is that if you don’t have time to clean yourself in the morning stepping outside is like taking a really hot shower.

Aiden, my two year old son, likes being outside until he realizes that his toys are candidates for spontaneous combustion.

some might call it perfect weather

The weather has been nothing short of spectacular lately. This past weekend was especially nice. On Saturday we lounged in Boboli Gardens for a few hours trying to put a little color on our pastey skin. We saw an Alan Alda look-a-like while we were there (can you tell we're on a West Wing kick?), but thankfully we realized that it wasn't him before Rob asked for an autograph -- as Hawkeye of course.

We continue to be perplexed, however, by the random mid-to-late-afternoon rain storms here. At least 3-4 times per week the sky gets dark, the rain pours and in five minutes it's all over. It's a lot like living in the midwest or South in the summer, actually.

Anything exciting around your neck of the woods?