Viareggio was our first overnight weekend trip on September 18-19 (not with the program). It was only a group of four of us: Mark, Hannah, Juliana, and me. The train from CF was at 8:19 am & luckily we were able to get a ride to the station. I bought everyone’s train tickets online a couple of days before. There was a 30-minute delay on our train from CF to Florence, which was going to make us miss our next train to Viareggio (our final destination). So we decided to hop on what would have been the next train to Florence, but we knew we weren’t going to have a lot of time to switch over to our next train. And sure enough, when we finally reached the correct platform at the train station in Florence, we watched our train pull away. We missed it by less than a minute. Our only option was to hop on to the next train. But this time we had to switch again in Pisa (where we missed yet another train) & go from Pisa to Viareggio (which was only a 17-minute ride). We were supposed to arrive around 11:30 am, but our trip which required 2 train rides turned into 3 and we got there around 12:30 (could have been worse). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upon arrival, we walked about 13 minutes from the sketchy train station in Viareggio to our Air B&B (and it turned out to be the cutest place ever). We instantly changed into our swimsuits and headed straight to the beach (and to find food). As we got closer to the beach, we realized that about 10 blocks parallel to the beach were all blocked off because of the Carnivale<\/em>. We had to walk all the way around to get to the beach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We later found out that Viareggio’s Carnivale <\/em>is about 150 years old and actually one of the most famous in Italy. It’s famous for its huge satirical floats that reference social issues from all over the world. We happened to be in town the first weekend of the Carnivale<\/em>. We ate a late lunch right on the beach at a restaurant called Ngochi<\/em>. I had some delicious spagetti al pesto<\/em>. The waiter said he could tell I was Latina because of my eyes (the second time someone has said that to me on this trip). He spoke perfect Spanish and said he spent some time in Mexico doing research on Mayan and Aztec culture. After lunch, we walked straight onto the beach. It was such a beautiful day and the water was so refreshing. There was a slight overcast so luckily the sun wasn’t beating down on us. It was also Mark’s first time at the beach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You know how people always say Europeans don’t always wear bras and they aren’t afraid to show their breasts at the beach? … well… it’s true. We were at the beach for several hours. We laid out, played in the waves, & sketched (we have to sketch every day as homework). Then we walked around town a bit. Hannah and I shared a Nutella-filled donut. And of course, we got gelato. We were all exhausted and ended the night with showers and a movie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We woke up to a rainy morning and Mark mistakenly left his shoes out to dry the night before. I got a cappuccino and chocolate and custard pastry at a cute coffee shop once we left the B&B. We walked around town and on the beach one last time before we made our way back to the train station. We left Viareggio at 3:10 and arrived back in CF a little before 6:30 pm. Luckily, the train ride back to CF was a lot smoother. We made it back just in time for the group dinner we have every night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were a few bumps we had to get over, but overall it was a great trip. Mark always says, “it’ll buff out.” And he’s absolutely right; there is a solution for everything. Good experiences really depend on the people you’re with. When things don’t go as planned, it’s easy to get frustrated with one another. That often leads to negative experiences all around, but I’m glad we didn’t have to deal with that. Overall, the trip was a success and Viareggio was amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–Ruth Noemi Zuniga <3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n