After our day spent in Herculaneum and Naples, Kristin, Matt, Connor, Nick and I boarded a ferry that was going to take us to Ischia, a small island off the coast of Naples. Once we arrived, our hostel host was there to pick us up. Shaun, who is from New Zealand, was super friendly and led us back to the hostel. He made us drink up on the rooftop bar which overlooked the beautiful blue sky and sparkling lights of the town below. We grabbed a late dinner that evening and headed to bed.
Our beautiful view and beautiful drinks
The next morning I woke up early so that I could get a run in. The island was a perfect place to go running, with a nice sidewalk all along the water. The ocean breeze helped keep me slightly cooler than I could have been otherwise. Getting back up to the hostel was a different story... a huge hill with no breeze was pretty challenging, but I made it. After a delicious breakfast at the hostel, we picked out the beach we wanted to go to, and took a bus there. We ended up walking a bit farther than we needed to, but it made the beach all the more worthwhile. It was paradise. Crystal clear, warm blue water.
Approaching the beach
Fresh coconut on the beach
We opted to buy our own umbrella and set up camp on the public beach. We swam and sun bathed all afternoon. It was so incredibly relaxing. And Connor used his newly acquired Italian (from his Italian class) to ward off vendors by yelling "basta" over and over (the vendors are extremely persistent). It was pretty hilarious. We grabbed some yummy gelato, walked around the tiny beach side town and eventually made out way back to our town, Casamicciola. WE stopped for an early dinner since we had skipped lunch. I had a delicious fresh salad. The restaurant was super cute, and we sat on a deck over the water below us.
More photos form the beach
That evening we went on a tour with the hostel owner Shaun to the island's famed thermal hotsprings. Included in the tour was our bus tickets and a liter of wine... EACH! We made our way on the bus, and then down a huge hill to the free public hotsprings. It was pitch black out at 11PM and the water was fabulously warm. There were some other people there, but it wasn't crowded. Watching all the stars, chatting, and relaxing in the water was probably one of the highlights of the trip. With no light pollution, we could see an incredible number of stars that night. A few hours later we made our way back to the hostel and passed out from exhaustion after a jam packed day full of fun and relaxation.
The ho tsprings in the day time
We sadly said goodbye to Ischia the next morning...
The next morning we checked out the town a bit before heading back to Naples on a ferry. We ate a pizza in Naples, and like last time, it was incredible. I got one with seafood on it, and I loved it. We found a train back to Rome, crammed on it, and rode for a few hours. We were glad we got on at the beginning on the ride because by the end all of the aisles were cramped with people. We no longer could complain about how close our seats were (especially the boys with long legs). We were sad to leave Ischia, but glad to be back "home in Rome".
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