Saturday March 14, 2009

Rachael’s friend Tara came in town during K-State’s scheduled spring break so we decided to take a day trip together to Viareggio, a popular beach town about an hour train ride from Florence. We headed out mid morning and of course missed the train we planned on catching. We made it on time to the train station and had tickets in hand but couldn’t find the bin number and right as we found it the train was pulling away. Not a big deal we made it there by 1pm but most of the shops were closed for siesta so we headed straight for the beach. The sun was shining so we posted up on the sand, ate our packed lunches, took in the scene, and napped for awhile. It was warm enough to take off our jackets but once the sun started to go down it started getting cooler so we packed up and wandered the promenade.

The promenade had almost a carnival like atmosphere with lots of rides, balloons, and games. Surprisely it seemed like we were the only tourists there which was pretty nice. We needed to use the restroom so we bit the bullet and bought some gelato so we could use their facilities. We were on the beach after all so I think gelato was a necessary part of the experience.

After our treat it was back to the train station for our trip home to Florence. Our train took a different route on the way back that took us through more hilly terrain and some beautiful little towns that we’re planning on going back to visit.