Knowing I will not be able to return to Italy anytime soon, I frequently catch myself thinking about spending days at the beach of Roseto degli Abruzzi on previous trips.

We would get ready to head to the coast after lunch, around 2 p.m. We drove down the hills and into the city, up to where all the lidos were located. Lidos are small, enclosed areas near the shore with bars and showers for beachgoers. There are many different lidos that are spread out along the coastline and hundreds of people flock to them during the summertime. My friends and I always met here.

Now, I do not speak for every Italian, of course, but I do know one thing about my family and friends. Under absolutely no circumstances is someone allowed to even touch water until at least three hours after they have eaten. So, for the first three hours at the beach, we would be stuck under the umbrellas. It was too hot to walk on the sand and we were not allowed to cool our feet off in the water. After three grueling hours of waiting, we were finally allowed to enter the water.

As the saying goes, time flies when you are having fun, but time especially flies when you are having fun with your friends. What seems like half an hour is actually two or three hours. After we are done swimming and playing in the ocean, we buy some tokens from the bar at the lido, deposit them in the hot shower section (there are two sets of showers: ones that dispense cold water and ones that dispense hot water) and wash off all the saltwater. 

Before we head home, my friends and I play basketball in the neighboring lido’s basketball court. The sun sets and the nightly parties and music start happening throughout the city. My parents and I usually go home to eat grandma’s homemade cooking or meet friends at a restaurant. We frequently take a detour for some gelato before walking home.

I truly miss the many days we had at the beach of Roseto, and the great things it offers; the bartenders’ warm, gentle and caring personalities, the smell of the ocean breeze as you sit in the calm ocean waters and the delicious plates of food that the lidos prepare. I look forward to the day my family can return to Roseto degli Abruzzi.