On the day after our Poseidon adventure, a day of relaxing and taking the waters at the Poseidon thermal spa, our life had anything but been turned upside down.  To the contrary, our party cruise seemed to be on cruise control with smooth seas fore and aft.  The only ominous cloud the horizon?  Our Ischia idyll was coming to an end.

On our final full day in Ischia we rose early and were among the first to enjoy breakfast on the Mezzatorre’s scenic terrace.  There, under warm skies and a cool breeze, with the calm sea lapping up on the rocky shores we marveled at just how idyllic the past four days had been.  So idyllic in fact, that we had begged the front desk to extend our reservation by a day, the only downside the fact that we would have to change rooms today.  No worries, as we had booked an early morning “couples” massage (please don’t get all agitated, it was strictly G rated) at the hotel spa’s outdoor facility, during which time our bags would be moved to our new digs.  We arrived a few minutes early decked out in our robes and were taken to an open air gazebo overlooking the San Montano bay where we were treated to an hour long massage under four skilled hands of two of the spa’s masseuses.  The soft breeze, the rusting of the waves against the shore, the occasional cackle of seagulls overhead and the skilled pushing, pulling, twisting and pressing of our masseuses helped relieve the last vestiges of stress from our bodies, a process that had started the moment we left noisy Naples on Monday and arrived on Ischia and which had continued unabated the entire visit.

After the massage we floated to the hotel pool, the heated seawater pool that had figured so prominently in our arrival but which we had spent precious little time at in the subsequent days as we raced from Ischian adventure to Ischian adventure, hoping to not miss anything the island had to offer.  For a couple of hours, during which time I managed to slip into the Mediterranean for a brief plunge and shock to the circulatory system, we enjoyed some relaxation and some first rate people watching.  Around the pool was a veritable United Nations of vacationers, or more precisely a G20 of sunseekers (but trading in business suits for bikinis and speedos!), a mix of Italians, Germans, Brits, Americans and a few Russians, the new kids on the Ischian block.  It was interesting to watch how these multicultural couples and families interacted with each other and with the other groups.  It is amazing how Ischia and other upscale beach destinations have become the real international melting pots.  Come to Ischia!  The streets are paved with gold!

Our lazy day continued with a scooter ride into Lacco Ameno, a town reachable by foot, at least on the way down the hill from the hotel.  We parked and found a promising restaurant called Lo Padrone do Mare, with tables set up outside under umbrellas, overlooking the bay.  Here, the locals had taken over the breakwater that had been built to shelter the harbor, setting up beach chairs and tables and turning this public works into a manmade public beach.  The restaurant next door, which was connected to the quay by a footbridge even served food and drink to the sunbathers.  Italians, it seems, rarely miss an opportunity to make some money or to turn a situation for the better.

We enjoyed a modest lunch that included spaghetti with an assortment of fresh shellfish and a mixed fried seafood plate, a staple on these islands and along the coast in the south of Italy.  The food was fresh and pure and good, but the peaceful, shady setting and the general sense of calm repose in the hot afternoon sun were even better.  Our bodies picking up on the cues from our surroundings, we cut short any thoughts of shopping or other activity and headed back to the Mezzatorre where our new room, with its shady terrace and frigid air conditioning awaited us.  All of this relaxation is simply exhausting.

Our only other must not miss appointment for the day (other than the massage) was to make one last visit to the hotel’s outside bar for a final night’s cocktail with our best friend on the property (no surprise here), the supremely capable and charming bar man Massimo.  Upon arrival at the Mezzatorre at the beginning of the week we committed to continuing the tradition we had started about a month before, during our Caribbean vacation, of having a classic cocktail each night at sunset (our doctor would be so proud of us).  The week’s libations served up by Massimo were a highlight of our stay, the cocktails enhanced by the beautiful outdoor setting of the Mezzatore’s bar, the elegant setup with its live piano music and Massimo’s warm and attentive service.  It is something that will bring us back in the future.  That and Massimo’s promise to make us a series of blue cocktails on our next visit.

And so our final day was coming to a close, but not without a final meal.  We had asked the reception for a restaurant recommendation in Sant’Angelo, a picturesque tiny town about a 25 minute cab ride from the hotel on Ischia’s southern coast.  We had requested a simple restaurant where we could get excellent fresh fish simply grilled, without a lot of fuss, altitude or sauce.  They immediately recommended the Ristorante Pescatore, which perfectly fit the bill, something the staff at the Mezzatorre seemed to excel at – listening and serving, rather than simply offering up cookie cutter responses to every request.  We got our fresh fish at the Pescatore that night, in fact our choice from some of the freshest fish we had seen on the trip (other than what I witnessed at Lo Padrone at lunch, but I’ll save that for another day).  That fresh fish left a wonderful taste in our mouths, but no better taste than the relaxed meal on a picturesque square in a picturesque villa on a lovely island off the coast of southern Italy had managed to leave in our mouths after five truly special days.  Five days well spent in Ischia.

Ci vediamo!
Bill and Suzy