In recent years, many of the Mediterranean’s iconically sunny destinations like Italy, Greece, France and Spain have become increasingly besieged by devastating heatwaves, leading unsuspecting tourists to come up with creative solutions to keep cool.

“Our hotel had AC technically, but it groaned like a dying fan and gave up by mid-afternoon,” said Fowkes. “The tap water came out warm. There were no blackout curtains. I tried sleeping with a wet towel on my chest and a bottle of frozen water under my knees and still woke up dizzy. At one point, I moved my pillow to the stairwell and lay on the tiles like a Victorian fainting lady because that was the only surface remotely cool.”