jamonserrano

As far as I remember, here in Budapest - apart from a handful of quick showers - it rained exactly once all summer, and altogether about four times since the end of winter. The city is estimated to lose a third of its trees in the next 10-15 years.

The summer heat, the drought, combined with winter cold spells and now usual late spring frosts have all but destroyed the country's agriculture too. The new government has initiated a water retention plan, but it might be too little to late.

Had the other side won, we would know them as the Kem Wars.

Back in primary school the knuckle method that we were taught seemed too complex and slow, so I made up a word instead from the 30-day months: "apjuseno".

I remember enjoying these as a child without understanding any of the subtext or satire:

Jonathan Swift: Gulliver's Travels

Umberto Eco: The Name of the Rose

Bohumil Hrabal: Cutting it Short

Antal Szerb: The Pendragon Legend

I have to disagree, there's plenty to do and see in Pisa. While it can't compete with Florence, right next to the leaning tower the cathedral and the baptistery contain some of the earliest examples of renaissance sculpture, and the sinopia museum gives insight into the technology of fresco painting. There are also several other museums and churches scattered around the city center and the riverbank, worth to pop in even if you're just trying to escape the summer heat.

And as others mentioned, its airport and train station make it a convenient hub to explore the surrounding area, including Calci, Lucca, Cinque Terre, and Livorno.