Milan is smoking hot. So hot that neither of us particularly wants to move. There are sales in all of the clothing shops so it's just packed with people everywhere. I'm far too Canadian for all of this. I want a tree to shade me while I quietly read.

We'd thought of going to see The Last Supper but it requires reservation and today was all booked up already. So we're hiding out in an internet cafe and hoping that it'll be less intensely hot when we venture back out. I'm not banking on it.

I visited a friend in Montreal in May who insisted that I go to Cinque Terre when in Italy. It was all gorgeous seaside scenery and piles of hiking. Perfect for me. Less perfect for Alyssa. But, because she's a good sport, she came along anyway. We arrived and I took off for a trail. I'm not entirely sure what she got up to, but I know foccacia was involved. The second day, Alyssa actually went hiking! I mean, I can't totally verify, as I wasn't there (we took different trails), but she definitely got a tan. Maybe a burn. And then we jumped into the sea and she got stung by a jellyfish, which perhaps indicates that she should just stay the hell away from nature. Jellyfish are so rare there. While she rested and read on the beach (in a shaded strip), I played water polo with a group of Italians, and they were all fascinated by the idea that a jellyfish was in our presence. They dove and searched for it and eventually captured it with a net. It was purple and slimy. Kind of beautiful. I feel bad that it had to die. But it had to die. It totally freaked us out.

Tomorrow, we take a series of trains to Marseille to watch the Tour. So it's probably best that we lay low today. I expect Marseille to be insane. And I expect that we will be insane in Marseille.