Supermarket/beach/Alessandro

This morning, we got up at 8:15. I jumped in the shower and then packed up for the day. It was beach day and Alessandro (met at Loyola) who is native to Rome would be guiding us around. First we had to run to the supermarket about 4 blocks away and grab some bread, milk, and eggs, and then we were off to catch the bus to Termini. From the bus we caught the Metra train Line B to Laurentina the last stop on the train where Alessandro met us by car. He drove a small compact Ford and stood outside if it waving..very easy to find. Then we were off to the beach. We went to Santa Severa beach. It was about a 40 minute drive but had this awesome Castle at the end of the beach. It looked like a gigantic sand castle. Boy was the beach packed. Umbrellas, towels, and lots of butt cheeks everywhere. The European style bathing suit was a little more thong like than American style, but every girl had it on so I felt uncomfortable in the one I wear because I didn't fit in. We found a sandy area and decided to hit the water first. Being the baby I am I only went in about knee deep but the water was fairly warm. When I first got in it was a bit chilly, but I got very used to it and soon it was warmer in the water than out.
We lounged on towels in the sand, but started to feel a little burnt so put on some sunscreen, and enjoyed a delicious lunch which Alessandro made. He brought us our first square pizza (there are two kinds of pizza in Rome---square thicker pizza and round very thin pizza). It was much like Paisan's thickness and we had tomato and mozzarella and also white pizza (basically like a big bread stick with olive oil on it). I enjoyed the first pizza which was Alessandro's favorite too. Delicious. He also brought fresh grapes and cantaloupe (which they call melon). The fruit is the best here because its so fresh!!! mmmmmm my favorite cold fruit on a hot day!
We stayed on the sand until about 7ish and then headed back into town. Alessandro showed us the mall which was gigantic. It had four stories and filled with tons of European clothing, shoes stores, and restaurants, even a grocery store. There were a few brands I recognized like H&M and also went into Bershka which is much like Forever 21 here. I was just amazed at how big this mall was and how every modern and new age it looked. We only stay 45 min before the mall was closing and then went back to the train. The train took us back from Laurentina to Termini and from there we caught a bus from Termini to Jo's house. What a day---time for some aloe lotion and bed!