Ciao! Well, we didn't get to tell you much about Cinque Terra Yesterday, but we have a little more time today. When we got here we checked out Monterosso, with their "sand" beaches, that are more like small rocks. It was great still because it feels so good to relax. Yesterday was the market in Monterosso, so we walked around that, and I got some "European" swimwear, yikes. It was also the Saint day for Vernazza's saint (I forget who) so there was a festival here. There were shops all over open, and tons of people. After dinner there was a huge fireworks show. We were expecting a sort of unregulated show, being in another country and all, but something more akin to the Hodgsons on the 4th. This was wild. Just kids, not professional, setting off these rocket propelled grenades right above the town. These things were going off right above our heads, probably 200 feet up. It was the loadest fireworks show I have ever seen, truely amazing. Today we did the obligitory hike between the towns. We took the train to Riomaggiore, and did the short strole to Manarola. On our way to the next town we saw a beach below with crystal clear water and few people so we stopped in for about an hour to cool off. I had to coax Anna into the water, but it was hard to get her to leave, except when she spotted a jelly fish about 4 feet from her head. These were little red guys that were stinging people all over the coast, not the throwable kinds. This led us to Corniglia, which is not on the water. It was a hike up (Its about 95 degrees here, no shade) but we had a lunch at the top and recharged with some Gatorade. Last was a section of the hike back to Vernazza that said it should take 2 hours, but only took about 45 minutes, what a relief because it was up and down on a very rocky trail. Tonight we are eating right under the castle overlooking town and the water. Tomorrow we catch the train (if this strike blows over) to explore the ancient city, Roma! Ciao! Bryan and Anna