In the train and on the way!
The train ride that took us to this part of Versilia brought us past sunflower fields, hill towns, and Tuscan mountains. Upon getting off the train, it felt like we were in the European version of southern California. The houses that line the streets are colorful, lights are strung from the tops of them across the streets, and you can even find hearts painted on the sides of buildings.
An extreme example of the hearts.
The walk to the beach led us to the Officina del Caffé, where we grabbed a quick and delicious bite to eat. It was here that we ran into our first character of the day: an older man, probably in his 80s, white-haired and short. He had a kind face and we responded to his smiling "ciao" with a "ciao" of our own. He then proceeded (from what we could gather with our basic italian knowledge) to tell us about his experience in the war. We also found out that he could speak Swahili as he lived in Africa for over a decade.
Our delicious chocolate-filled snack!
The safe-feeling and sunny area leading up to water immediately relaxes the senses, which become aroused again when they see the chair and umbrella lined beach that stretches on and on (in fact, it keeps going for 20km). For 15 euro, we were able to secure an umbrella, four chairs, and towel-access to the sand by the water.
An example of the beach set-up. Oh how I wish I could be there at daybreak for better pictures.
Our umbrella with one of its accompanying chairs.
If more Fridays end up like this one, I'm never going to believe that I'm in school. Even if I choose to read Museum Basics for my Visual Literacy: Art Collecting and Museology class while lounging.
I really wasn't kidding.
Lunch was fried shrimp from the somewhat famous "fish and chip boat." Every morning, fishermen bring their fresh catch up the Burlamacca Canal and sell it! Seeing as how I was talking about shrimp all week, this was the ultimate in beach food for me.
Lunch and a view!
The people watching throughout the day was also quite entertaining. While my friends came back with stories of topless British sunbathers, I saw my share of little girls running around sans bikini tops. The speedo vs. swim trunks issue ran about 50/50. Two older women to my left sang scales for a solid half hour. The manager of one of the umbrella sections made people move their towels by under a foot so that they wouldn't be on "his part" of the beach. The guy who sold us our area was reading a guide book on Cambodia.
But as a fashion person, my absolute favorite detail was the older Italian women...who all wore bikinis. While at first it was a strange site, I found the fact that they all wore colorful bikinis (regardless of their size, body shape, etc.) to be very empowering. Perhaps there's a lesson to be learned there.
After lunch, I walked a few hundred yards to the water to dip my feet into the Ligurian Sea. The water was cool and refreshing compared to the baking sun. Looking off into the water in front of me and back to the mountains rising up behind the beach town to my back, I took in the wonderful day. And then proceeded to have a blissful nap by the water as my iPod played a mix of Frank Sinatra and musical soundtracks.
And in the words of little orphan Annie, I think I'm gonna like it here.
Greetings from Viareggio (pronounced ViarEEjoe, essentially) :-)
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