Even though we've spent the whole summer in Italy, sweating most of the time (no air conditioning in the apartment), we had not seen the ocean yet. So after another week of sunny 34 degree days, we decided to spend a day at the beach in Viareggio today. Of course, once we'd made that decision, the weather forecast changed to cooler and rainy, but that (as well as a look out the window this morning) didn't deter us from taking the train to the seaside resort this morning. After a walk to the oceanfront, we were faced with the difficult decision of choosing a bathing facility. In Italy, most beaches are private property, and so you have to pay to use it. We ended up comparing prices, and in the end, 20 Euros got us two beach chairs, an umbrella and a changing room/locker for the day. This being towards the end of the season and a somewhat rainy day, I think we got a slight discount. After changing, we were shown our chairs -- sixth row, not bad -- and could then start our relaxation. It drizzled a little bit, but then the sun came out and we went into the water, which was pleasantly cool (refreshing, not icy) and choppy. Actually going into the water does not seem to be the point of going to the beach for many Italians, though. I guess working on their tan is more important. After reading some and taking a short nap, a wind came up and the weather became more cloudy, so after a while we left and walked along the oceanfront promenade with many 1920's buildings and then back to the train station, from where we took the train back to Florence.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
A day at the beach
Even though we've spent the whole summer in Italy, sweating most of the time (no air conditioning in the apartment), we had not seen the ocean yet. So after another week of sunny 34 degree days, we decided to spend a day at the beach in Viareggio today. Of course, once we'd made that decision, the weather forecast changed to cooler and rainy, but that (as well as a look out the window this morning) didn't deter us from taking the train to the seaside resort this morning. After a walk to the oceanfront, we were faced with the difficult decision of choosing a bathing facility. In Italy, most beaches are private property, and so you have to pay to use it. We ended up comparing prices, and in the end, 20 Euros got us two beach chairs, an umbrella and a changing room/locker for the day. This being towards the end of the season and a somewhat rainy day, I think we got a slight discount. After changing, we were shown our chairs -- sixth row, not bad -- and could then start our relaxation. It drizzled a little bit, but then the sun came out and we went into the water, which was pleasantly cool (refreshing, not icy) and choppy. Actually going into the water does not seem to be the point of going to the beach for many Italians, though. I guess working on their tan is more important. After reading some and taking a short nap, a wind came up and the weather became more cloudy, so after a while we left and walked along the oceanfront promenade with many 1920's buildings and then back to the train station, from where we took the train back to Florence.
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3 comments:
In your beach photo, every single umbrella is at precisely the same angle. I wonder if they do that on purpose? And then come by to tilt the umbrellas as the sun moves around?!
They're secured like umbrellas in tables, but there's only a very small table. They don't tilt them, you just have to move with the shade.
Yes, the order on the beach is quite interesting. Check out the picture on Google Maps.
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