have carry-on will travel: January 2023

Saturday, January 28, 2023

Superb Sant'Angelo on the Island of Ischia

Sant'Angelo is a superb little walking only town on the island of Ischia, in Italy. One small caveat to the walking only part is that you might see little vehicles taking supplies and / or luggage around occasionally but that's about it. Otherwise it's just the nice quiet sound of folks walking around and relaxing!

My group of four took a day trip from where we were staying in Forio to Sant'Angelo. We took a crowded public bus on the way there, which worked fine, and then opted for a taxi on the way back.

This quaint little town is easily walkable, even in the hot and humid of summer time. There are great ways to cool down if it is hot. One way is via a local place serving delicious gelato. Another way is to rent a beach chair and take a splash. If you're adventurous, or perhaps foolish, like us then you can, at your own risk, hike out to the Torre di Sant' Angelo and carefully get in and out of the water to cool down. Please watch out for waves and slippery rocks if you try this (again at your own risk of course).

Bar Ridente is a good spot for lunch. They offer gelato as well, just don't make the mistake that we did and try to sit at a table if you're only getting gelato.

There are water taxis that can take you to nearby Maronti beach, or you can hike. We opted to just hike to a local church and also tried to find a steam vent attraction. We failed to find that but still had a good hike despite the heat. It's good to bring your own water bottle so that you can refill it when you find faucets in town or near churches.

Sant'Angelo is certainly worth a day trip and perhaps longer if you want to get away from the noise and busyness of other locations. Are you planning to go to this region of Italy? Where to? Happy travels. Ciao.

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John 3:16 ✝

Monday, January 16, 2023

Fabulous Forio on the Island of Ischia

Forio on the island of Ischia, in Italy, is a fabulous town for relaxation and an authentic Italian experience. Ischia may not be a tourist hot spot like nearby Positano or Capri but it's a wonderful place to get away from it all. Forio specifically is a great place to relax and enjoy the simple pleasures.

When my group went there we stay at the lovely Hotel La Scogliera. It's in a great location close to beaches, restaurants, small grocery stores, and tabacchis (almost like convenience stores in the USA). The hotel staff were excellent and quite friendly. It was really convenient to catch the sunsets just across the street from the hotel as well.

Our group of four choose this Forio area so that we could have a lot of beach and relaxation time. We had originally planned to go hiking up the mountain, Monte Epomeo, and visit local hot springs / spa but it was unusually hot for the time of year (end of June / early July). It was so hot and humid that one felt a bit tired just walking around in the heat.

We tried a few free beaches near the hotel and they were very nice. The water was quite refreshing. We had the wonderful opportunity to get to chat with some of the local residents there too. The lidos or paid beaches were nearby as well.

There's a lot of good food to be found at the restaurants. Anything from seafood, lemon pasta, gnocchi, pizza, and much more. Please learn from our mistake though. We tried eating dinner at our early American time of around 5 PM and options are limited. If you shift it later there's a lot more to choose from.

The coffee in Italy is really excellent. There was one shop that even roasted their own coffee. Others in town had great cappuccinos and delicious pastries as well.

The La Mortella gardens have quite the variety of plants and fountains. If you hike up to the top it offers a great view of Forio and the coastline as well.

It's also great fun to just walk around and explore. There's beautiful churches both in Forio and right by the water. The architecture and small details are also delightful.