Beach Day!

I have experienced my first beach day in Italy! While I have previously been to coastal areas such as Cinque Terre and Puglia, I never spent the day...at the beach. It was quite a day. Having grown up in Southern California and accustomed to this type of beach, this was a new and relaxing experience. There are umbrellas with chairs as far as the eye can see. Each umbrella has two upright chairs and one lounge chair. They are sectioned off and they are grouped by colors, blue alternating with orange. There is a wood path between each grouping that takes you down to the water. Very much appreciated as the sand was hot! What I learned is that most of these "umbrellas" are rented for the year by families for 1200.00 per year. We were lucky, as it was early in the season, to obtain an umbrella for $25.00 for the day. Apparently, these rows of chairs & umbrellas are owned by families, much like real estate and are passed on from generation to generation. The owners tend their beach property much as a rental house in the US. They rake the sand nightly and clean and straighten their area. There is a small building at the top by the boardwalk where you can rent any available umbrella for the day. There is also a bar (THANK GOD) where you can by drinks and take them to your umbrella. At lunch you simply walk up to the boardwalk for lunch which offers multiple choices. I had a delicious Spaghetti Pomodoro with a house Rose. Perfection, but then what in Italy is not? After lunch it was back to our umbrella and a swim. The water was perfect. A bit chilly getting in, but then completely enjoyable. Although not crystal clear like the water in Greece, it was nice. It is very shallow and you can walk and walk and it is still only to your knees. After a day in the sea and sun, but before returning back to Lucca it was time for Gelato! Oh ya...I of course got my fave Stracciatella with Carmello. I have to say after 40 plus years of Southern California beaches, Hawaiian beaches, Brazilian beaches (well you get the idea), this was probably my favorite. The luxury of having everything set up and so comfy was definitely a treat. There was a family two umbrellas down from us with two toddlers that were absolutely adorable and listening to them play was helpful for my Italian. They were using simple phrases and pretending to cook and I was able to follow the conversation, well at least until the second bottle of wine! All in all, another amazing day in Italia.