We were waiting at a bus stop today in a European city with a namesake in New York State. The bus was late and the bus stop had only half a roof. During a ten-minute deluge, there was nearly a riot at the bus stop as people less weather-savvy than me (I'd seen it coming!) tried to muscle us out of the way in their desperate efforts to stay dry. Manfully, I stood our ground. The whole city was in chaos with roads flooded everywhere. When the bus finally reached its destination, 25 miles away, we came upon weather that was hot and sunny and there had been no rain there at all. We stood on the roof of Santa Chiara church and had a wonderful view of an amazing baroque town that had been completely rebuilt after a devastating earthquake at the end of the 17th century.

I later discovered that, apart from a little strip near Barcelona, we were in the only place in Europe that had had such unsettled weather. If you can't guess where we are, I'll tell you on Monday.