Il Giorno nella Spiaggia di Follonica (A day at the beach in Follonica)

Today we woke up early to meet at the bus stop at 7:25 for our CET-sponsored beach day. It was about a two-hour trip, so we arrived in the beach town of Follonica around 9:30. Follonica is on the West coast of Italy, on the Tyrrhenian Sea. Most of us (including me) staked out a spot on the free, public beach, but a couple of the girls wanted umbrellas and chairs, so they went to the private beach. (However, it cost 15 euros per person). The private beaches and public beaches are all right next to each other, and you can walk among all of them. The difference is that the private ones give you chairs, umbrellas, sometimes a hammock, and showers. In the morning, the public beach was crowded but by midday, it cleared out, making for a great beach day. It was wonderful day and the sea was the perfect temperature too. We laid out our towels, put on our sunscreen, and enjoyed time to read, listen to music, etc. Before lunch I went for a walk with Melissa, in the direction of the mountains in the distance. The beach was pretty, especially with the mountains, but I’m a little spoiled by our large sandy beaches in Florida. The actual beach part was very small here. For lunch, we went to a cute, beachy café and sat outside under a tent covering. In the shade, the temperature was very comfortable and we heard a rumor that there’s a cold front coming through next week – we’ll see! Afterwards, I went for about a 40 minute walk on the beach, heading the direction of the jetty. It was so nice to walk on the shore, having time just to listen to the sound of the ocean and reflect on my time here in Italy before I head home next week. At 3:45 we packed up to take the 4:20 train home to Siena. After all the sun, we all took naps on the trip back. And I think the sun, sea, and salt did me good because my sore throat/mini-cold seems to have gone away. That evening Ana Rose and I had dinner with Stella and Lino – her fabulous spaghetti to start and a very good fish dish for our second course that consisted of smoke swordfish layered with sliced green apples, olive oil, lemon juice, lettuce, and walnuts. Stella is so intrigued by my kickboxing DVD that she had me demonstrate to Lino after dinner my punches and kicks since he’d never heard of kickboxing, or “chick-boxing” as Stella accidently called it! Tonight we are headed out to one of our last contrada parties before leaving Siena – I can’t believe my time here is almost over!