the tuscan coast.

Buongiorno!

Earlier in the week, I was invited to go to a beach with a bunch of other people, so yesterday that is what I did. In total there were 11 of us. The day started off a little rough, it’s hard to organise 11 people. But, gladly, we all ended up on the bus on our way to the beach at 7:50 yesterday morning. The beach was near Castiglione, and the bus ride was about two hours long.

I didn’t know much about this area when I went yesterday, so I’ve just been reading about it in my guide book.

According to my guide book, the northern stretch of the Tuscan coast is much more heavily developed than the southern area. Viareggio, in the northern part, is very busy and developed. To the south, the Maremma coast is a combination of beaches and nature reserves.

I believe the area we were in was the Maremma coast.

We did originally plan to go to Castiglione, but at the last minute we decided to stay on the bus for a couple more stops and go to that beach. It was only about half an hour from Castiglione.

On the bus ride, we passed beaches, resorts, marinas, but also nature reserves. According to my guidebook, there is a park called Parco Naturale Regionale della Maremma. The habitats found in this park are mostly beaches, marshlands, maquis and pinewoods, with animals such as boar and porcupines and many types of birds.

In case you didn’t know, maquis is a scrubland, featuring, in Italy, shrubs such as lavender and rosemary. According to Wikipedia, the word maquis actually comes from the Italian word macchia, which means thicket in English. Because of the dense, thick nature of this type of vegetation, it was often used by bandits and guerrillas to hide from authorities. This is where the French resistance group, the Maquis, derived their name from during the Second World War.

There are apparently many walking trail around this area. I would love to go back there and explore this area. A nice hike would be perfect! I had become accustomed to hiking once a week back in Burlington. Unfortunately, I don’t think that will happen this trip. I don’t think I know anyone here right now that would be up for a two hour bus ride in order to hike. Fortunately, this Thursday my class is going to Fiesole, where we will be doing a hike of sorts. It isn’t going to be a very intense hike or anything, but it should be really nice. This town overlooks Florence, but I’ll tell you more about Fiesole after my trip there.

I find it interesting travelling this way. I’m used to travelling with my family. Our trips are usually about two or two-and-a-half weeks, and we try and see as much as possible in that short amount of time. This trip is over double that (five-and-a-half weeks), but I am only getting a taste of a very small part of Italy. I am getting to know Siena pretty well though. It’s a different way of experiencing another country, and both have their pros and cons. I’m beginning to see, however, that I prefer seeing as much as I can. In an ideal world, I would have five-and-a-half weeks, but would be travelling around the country more.

Anyway, we arrived at the beach around 10, and found a spot to spread out our towels and open some umbrellas. We were there all day, alternating between tanning and swimming in the ocean when we got too hot. Unfortunately, even though I was applying and reapplying my sunscreen, I got burned all over my legs, stomach and back. Thankfully, my arms and face didn’t burn. These were the areas I already had a tan, from hiking and spending time outside. I’m guessing my sunscreen wasn’t really doing much, and my existing tan is what saved my arms and face from being burned.

Our bus back to Siena picked us up sometime after 6, and we got back to Siena around 8:30. Most of us were sleeping, or at least relaxing, on the bus. When we got back, I decided to put on some aloe vera (borrowed from a girl I know) and go to sleep. Today, I have my comfy cotton dress on, and other than an excursion to the store for some after-sun cream, I have been taking it easy in my residence room, trying to find some way to sit that doesn’t irritate my burns. This may not be my only post today. I’m going to read for a bit, and then maybe write some more about Italy and Tuscany in general. :)

Arrivederci! <3