Etc...

Then again, some like it hot

A heat wave in much of Europe this past week is generating some unusual ways to keep cool. Case in point: Bus driver Mats Lundgren of Umea, in northern Sweden. When his bosses rejected a request to wear shorts on duty, he found an acceptable alternative in the company dress code - a navy blue skirt. "It's even better than shorts," Lundgren raved to the Västerbottens Folkblad newspaper, in a story picked up by Agence France Presse. "It's unbearable driving a bus in long trousers when the sun is blazing through the windscreen. But with the skirt, it feels just great," Lundgren said. Oh, and the "blazing" high in Umea? 77 degrees, F.

With a reputation for chic shoes, designer sunglasses, and tailored suits, Italians are the world's best-dressed tourists, according to Expedia.co.uk. The British travel website surveyed tourist offices in 18 destinations worldwide, such as New York, Orlando, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Prague, and Sydney. German travelers, notorious for favoring barely-there beachwear, came in last. The 10 nations whose citizens are most noted for their natty attire while abroad:

1. Italy
2. Britain
3. France
4. Spain
5. Canada
(tie) Japan
7. China
8. Ireland
(tie) Denmark
10. US - Sydney Morning Herald