La spiaggia

Oh how I long for the days of walking out my front door on Oak St., in Laguna Beach to find the beautiful, glittering, hot beach right at my feet. Those days are long gone. The heat was so intense last weekend, we, along with everyone else living in Rome, decided to head to the beach, which was a much different experience. We woke up around noon, grabbed a quick cappuccino, picked up a bunch of fruit, bread and other goodies from the market and were on our way. The journey there was rather painless, we caught the bus, the train, and then another bus, standing the whole time since all the seats were taken, and about an hour later we arrived. The beach was packed with people - adorable, happy children frolicking with their towels wrapped around their necks like capes, and hot Italians wearing skimpy bikinis and tight, bright colored speedos sunbathing and tanning their olive skin. The snack bar was lively and full of people, having a gelato, café or a cold drink, or a big plate of pasta. I had to note that in California you would never find beach goers having a big plate of pasta in the middle of the day - too many carbs, and a bit too heavy of a meal for a day when wearing a swimsuit is required. For Italians, a day doesn’t go by without a plate of pasta. We laid out in the sun for hours, soaking up all the rays possible so our skin turned a little red, a little tan and tight and my hair turned tangled and salty as the day progressed. Sean played with the soccer ball and jumped in the ocean. As the sun began to set, we decided to call it a day and head back. The only problem was that every time the bus passed, it was so full, no other passengers would fit About 5 buses passed us that were too full for us to get on. I was getting a little worried we weren’t going to ever get home. So, we decided to walk a few stops back the opposite direction, so we could try to get on before everyone else. The further back we walked, the bigger the crowds were waiting for the bus. It was impossible, so we decided to just head to the beach and get some gelato. We were at a different part of the beach since we walked away from our original stop. We quickly and inevitably realized that we were at a very well-known gay beach. The bar was hoping with people and loud techno music. We got our ice cream at the bar and sat on the beach ready to kill some time as the sun began to set and a cool breeze glided over the sand and people, trying not to stand out too much as the only hetero couple there. We decided to try the buses again after a while, managed to hop onto one, and were packed in like sardines. I have never felt so close to strangers before...it wasn’t a very pleasant experience, everyone was stinky from the beach, and sandy and these obnoxious teens insisted on screaming the whole 5 mile journey to the train station. On the train home we accidentally got in the same cabin as the screaming teens, which made for an equally unpleasant experience. We got home and were worn out. It felt good to get to the coast, but in comparison to the easy access we had in Laguna, I actually missed it a little.