Al Mare!

Italians love the beach and Italy offers plenty of beautiful beaches! Per i bambini (pair e bam-bee-knee) the children, it’s not just the mare rinfrescante (ma-ray reen-fres-cahn-tay) refreshing sea and il splendido sole (eel splen-dee-do sole-a) the splendid sun, but all the other activities to enjoy.

One year, when I was a cucciola (coo-cho-la) little puppy, my zio (z-oh) Uncle Roberto came to visit us. Mamma was excited because she hadn’t seen him in a long time. We were planning to visit gli scavi di Pompei (yee sca-vee d Pom-pay) the ruins of Pompeii, but Zio Roberto said, “E` l’estate!” (A lay sta-tay) It’s summertime! “Andiamo alla spiaggia” (An-dee ah-mo a-la spee-a-ja) Let’s go to the beach. On the way mamma read me this cute little poem.

Ragazzi, Vi piace a fare tutte queste cose quando andate a mare? (V pee-ah-chay ah fah-ray two-tay kwest-a coh-zay kwan-do ahn-da-tay ah ma-ray) Do you like to do all those things when you go to the beach?

Well, I couldn’t play with a bucket, but I did join in a volleyball game and ran around the beach. Then mamma and nonna took me in the water for a swimming lesson. I didn’t like that as much and when they took me back to our spot, I lay down on un asciuga-mano soffice (un ah-shoo-ga-mah-no sew-fee-chay) a nice fluffy towel and had a wonderful nap.