L'Estate a Roma

L'Estate is how we say summer in Italian. We also use the word caldo to describe l'estate. Why? Because caldo means hot. And summer in Rome is caldo, caldo, caldo, especially without air conditioning. I have been sweating, day and night, for a month. Sometimes I wonder why I even shower, because after I do, I just start sweating again, but this is beside the point.

The point is that Rome is hot in the summer, and we Romans do a lot of things to beat the heat.

These are as follows:
a. go to the beach
b. eat gelato or granita while at the beach
c. go to the beach

Thankfully, one can get to the beach from Rome by train in about 45 minutes. Plus, the cost is only a metro ticket.

Here are a few things I have learned about going to the beach in Italy:

1. The sand is not white like our beautiful gulf coast beaches. In fact, some of the sand is almost black, and this means that the sand gets really, really caldo.
2. Just like Italians have to shower as soon as they get out of the pool, dry their hair, and then get dressed before going home, they also shower and change clothes after a day at the beach. That seems normal, right? I mean, who does not love a good shower after a day at the beach once you are back at your beach house or condo? Well, Italians shower right there at the beach in these little enclosed showers stalls that cost around one euro to use. We don't do that in the states, right? Maybe it's because the Mediterranean Sea is so salty (it is soooo salty).
3. Italians are very comfortable and very free with their bodies. No matter how old or young you are, no matter how fat or thin you are, it is perfectly acceptable to parade around the beach in a bikini or a Speedo. In America, we are so consumed with having a perfect body, and are quick to cover up if we are out of shape. Not in Italy. There are 75-year-old grandmothers rocking bikinis on the beach, and you know what? I think we can learn a lot from this. These people are comfortable with who they are.
4. Along those same lines, it is also perfectly acceptable to not wear a top at the beach. I will leave that statement to speak for itself.
5. Italians do crowded beaches. People are sitting almost right on top of each other and do not seem to mind in the least. I know that this has been somewhat of an adjustment for me. My American mentality says that I need a lot of space, but sometimes, it is just nice to be on the beach, regardless of how close you are to the potentially topless person next to you.
6. Italians do paid beaches. I mean you can definitely find free ones, but Italians do not mind paying for a beach, then paying for the chairs and the umbrellas, and then paying for drinks, coffee, and food at the beach bar. Same with pools...pools cost money to go to here, and they are certainly not cheap! It cost at least 30 euros for me to take the kids to the pool for only half a day!
7. Having a beach so close means that I am really tanned (yes Mom, I have been wearing sunscreen...sometimes). No complaints about that. Every time I come home from a morning at the beach, the family always comments about how abbronzata or tanned I am. I think, that considering how pale I was in the winter, they are a little shocked to see that not only can I tan, but that I can get pretty dark.
8. Not that people are not selling random and completely superfluous things on every street corner, tourist site, or traffic light in Rome, but it seems to me that the beach is the place to go if you have some cheap piece of jewelry, sun glasses, or hair bands to sell. Your restful day at the beach is constantly interrupted by someone trying to sell you all kinds of things from friendship bracelets to bathing suits. The strangest thing they sell, however, are massages. There are always women walking around and asking "vuoi un massagio?" which means "do you want a massage?" Seems like a good idea in theory, but then again, who wants a massage on the beach in front of all the people who are crowded in around you? Best thing they sell on the beach: granita. It is kinda like shaved ice. I love waiting to hear the tinkle of the granita bell as the man pulls up to my section of the beach with his granita cart in tow! Time to get out my 2 euros and get a refreshing granita. Definitely a great way to beat the heat!