Anyone who’s used to casual, public beach going may get a shock on first coming to Italy or Europe in general.
It certainly was for me as half of our beaches are in national parks and nearly all of them are public.
Which means you wander down in your swimming costume, with maybe a t-shirt on, and your flip flops to pick a spot where to chuck your towel.
If you’re really organised you might bring an umbrella or one of those groovy tents that are so in fashion these days.
But in Europe it’s all set up for you.
You pick the most attractive beach umbrellas, most comfortable sun beds or best looking attendant, all depending on your needs.
When I went to Spain with my girlfriends we happened upon Raul and spent the rest of the holiday there.
Raul was a nice looking guy who strutted around without his t-shirt showing off his tanned pecs.
And we knew his name was Raul because he had it tattooed across his six pack (though other theories among us abound as to whether Raul was not the name of someone else…).