Spending time on the beach
Friday, September 4, 2009
After our walking around and visiting a few places, we finally decided to go to the beach this morning. I love being in the water and walking along the beach, but I'm not as fond of laying out in the sun. One of the guys at our hotel lent us an umbrella so we didn't have to pay to rent one. We picked an empty spot on the beach, planted the umbrella, and headed for the water.
I was surprised that the water was warm; I had assumed that it would be cold so I entered it slowly. The water wasn't even that deep, so I was able to play around in the waves.
I forgot to bring a book, so Alessandro and I decided to walk along the beach before it got too crowded. I took a few pictures, and really loved the lifeguard houses.
They had announced thundershowers again and we could see dark clouds looming in the East. We stayed only a couple of hours and then headed back to the hotel once it started to get too hot in the sun.
We finally walked to Lincoln Road that we heard so much about. The street was lined with shops and restaurants with outdoor terraces where people were eating or drinking. We walked up one side, about 10 blocks, and then back down the other side. I was eager to visit the bookstore, but was disappointed to see that it was very small. Even the bookstore's terrace café seemed larger.
When I got back to the hotel, I looked on-line for a large bookstore where I could get lost for hours. The closest one was about 12 miles away. I realized it wasn't worth the $50 round-trip taxi fare to pick up books I can get back in Florence anyway.
It was one of the things I had looked forward to during my visit to the US, but there were many other things to do and see to keep myself interested and busy.
We walked along the beach in the early evening before dinner after the crowds had dispersed. I walked in the water while Alessandro kept his feet dry.
For dinner, we took a taxi to another part of town and saw the sun set behind the city skyline. We both felt that it was one of the most beautiful and stunning sunsets we had ever seen. I wished that I had my camera, but I wouldn't have been able to take a picture from the highway anyway.
