Attentamente! Attentamente! Una medusa!

Imagine hearing some Italian children yelling these words, plus a bunch more, as you're slowly swimming in the harbor here in Vernazza. D and I were headed towards this shouting group and slowly realized they were talking to us, then realized there was something in the water they were talking about, and then listened carefully and figured out it was a jellyfish. Of course, we were helped in these linguistic detective efforts when we saw one of them actually pull the jellyfish out, tentacle side up, and toss it away. We turned around and headed back the way we'd come at that point, especially because next we heard them yelling about an octopus....soon we were safe back on shore.

Today was another very hot day...we left for our 3 hour hike this morning at 9, trying to beat the heat, but soon were literally dripping with sweat as we walked along. We were hiking along the coast to the next two towns, and the views were great...there are terraced olive groves and vineyards along the way, which the locals still work, mountain-goat-like. We hopped the train back, then hung around here in Vernazza, did laundry, and some shopping...which brings me to the story of the opera-singing shop keeper.

We wanted to buy a few small ceramics in a little shop we'd seen earlier...the man there was listening to opera, and moved to turn it down when we came in, but i said I liked it, so then he showed me he was listening to Figaro, by Mozart of course, and so I said I'd been to Salzburg, etc. etc. Encouraged, he showed me the words, which he'd been following along and singing, and points to where I should join in on the female part. I was shy at first, and then I couldn't figure out what to sing even though he was trying so hard to show me, but eventually I managed a few awful notes and he was so glad....said bravo, shook my hand, and we sang a little more. Meanwhile, he'd wrapped the pieces we bought without paying attention to how many, so we had to tell him how much we owed....best of all, D has most of this on video from her camera...

At night here, the harbor beach where everyone lays on the sand during the day is cleared off, soccer goals are brought out, and the local bars and restaurants field teams, complete with uniforms and coaches. Phil Cunliffe, you would love it! Everyone in town plus tourists lines the harbor square and cheers them on. Great fun, but loud when we were trying to sleep at midnight and they were still playing....

Tomorrow we leave for Siena and then more Tuscan hill towns for a few days before Rome. Happily, Siena has the same Internet point that we used in Florence to send the photos...so I will try there. Ciao for now...time for our evening gelato. They have sangria flavor and panna cotta here; got to try it!
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