"I don't think the heavy stuff's gonna come down for quite a while"

Today, June 2nd, is a national holiday in Italy. It's called the Festa della Repubblica, and is the celebration of Italy becoming a republic in 1946. June 2nd was the day that the citizens of Italy were called to the polls to decide what form of government the country would have instead of fascism. The vote was 12,717,923 for republic and 10,719,284 for monarchy. So there's a little history lesson for you.

Since we were given the day off from school, we decided to go to Viareggio, a town not too far from Florence and on the beach. When we checked the weather last night it said there was a 90% chance of rain, but we decided to go anyway, convinced that the weathermen didn't know what they were talking about. Even while riding in the train towards the beach and we saw the dark clouds in the direction we were going we still didn't think it was going to rain, believing our overwhelming optimism would keep the rain away. When we got to the town, it was about a 15 minute walk to the beach. We all took off our shoes and started to walk on the sand, then it started to rain. We ran to a nearby restaurant and ate, again hoping the rain would blow over while we were inside. When we came out we thought we were right, but then it started to monsoon. After some more walking in the rain we stopped at a gelato place to try and wait out the rain. "I think it's starting to let up" was a common phrase, but it never came true. After about an hour of waiting, we finally accepted it wasn't going to stop. It was another 15 minute walk back to the train station, made much more exciting by the pouring rain. And of course, the sun came out right as we got on the train.

It wasn't exactly the day trip we imagined, but we all still had a good time. We might be going back this weekend when the weather is better. It's back to school tomorrow. It's crazy to think the first session is halfway over.

ae

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