Life on the island is very different in July than it is most other months of the year. Typically, it’s much warmer, the streets are packed with tourists, and only if you’re lucky, (or Gianni) can you find a spot on the beach.
Fortunately for me, Gianni has a spot on the “scogliera” (break wall), complete with lounge chairs, umbrellas, and food and drink delivery and as always, a place for me.
I spent every day out on those rocks, just enjoying the sun, the warm clear water, and time with my friends. A couple of days into my stay was Giacomo, Gianni’s cousin’s birthday, and being that I am “part of the family” I was naturally invited to the party. As I have mentioned before the Italians don’t really know how to do anything small, but celebrations are really what they are good at. Well, anything that involves eating, drinking, and socializing really. Giacomo’s birthday was obviously no exception. Upon arriving everyone mingled over a glass of wine (or two), snacked on a huge buffet table of appetizers and salads, before making our way to the tables for course after course of even more delicious food. Shortly after sitting down for the first course, in walks a three piece band, just in case anyone had thought that the food and drinks weren’t already enough.
After hours and hours of eating, drinking, and dancing, the party started to wind down and we made our way down to a bar for one last drink before calling it a night. Back at la cascetta, a bit overwhelmed with emotion, I felt compelled to sit down and write. I actually wrote this in Italian, but will put it in English here for you…
People say that in life you get what you give. I, however, do not know what I could have ever done to deserve so much. I only know one thing… I am a very lucky person. Thank you to all of my friends for making this life so special.
The next day, just the like the previous few days, I headed to the scogliera to meet Gainni. Today unlike the other days, his cousin Mary, the one whose birthday party we had attended only a month or so earlier, joined us. While sitting there, under the sun Gianni told Mary that he had arranged for her to have a ticket to a fashion show that night that was being held on the other side of the island, and that I was to be her date. Obviously I was very excited at this invitation. Everyone had been talking about the Rocco Barocco fashion show for a while now. Hollywood movie stars would be there and everyone wanted to go. I never expected that I would be going, let alone be walking in with a beautiful Italian. It was just a bit weird that that beautiful Italian was Gianni’s cousin. Not to mention, I was also a bit intimidated. Mary, is, in a lot of ways your typical Italian woman, very pretty, very stylish, and very confident. However, unlike most Italian women, she was single, worked for the airlines travelling the world, and very carefree about the way she enjoyed the pleasures of the world. At this point you are probably thinking, “Okay, Nick… and the problem is?!” Well here is the problem; I’m living out of a backpack, have NO clothes that would be appropriate for any fashion show, let alone one in Italy with a very fashionable Italian beauty on my arm. Oh, and did I mention that said Italian beauty is my best friend in Italy’s cousin? Yeah. So I did as any other person in my situation would do. I turned to Mary and said, “Well, I guess we need to go shopping!” Two hours and 150 Euros later I had a pair of beige pants that were easily two sizes too small for me, a VERY “fitted” black dress shirt, a haircut, and a shave. Gianni’s ticket included dinner at the fashion show and Mary and I had tickets only for the show, so I had dinner with Mamma Maria, the family, and Mary’s mom. Just after dinner Mary arrived on her scooter to pick me up. Not making things any better, as I was kissing Mamma Maria goodbye she said to me, “Be careful! Mary is a little crazy!” Then, just outside the house, Mary’s mom said the exact same thing. Not sure what to think, I said okay and nervously climbed on the back of the scooter. I wish I had a picture of us driving to the show, Mary, in a black dress and high heels, driving a scooter with me, doing my best impersonation of a fashionable Italian, sitting nervously on the back. I swear it could’ve been a scene out of a movie. The show itself was great. The Hollywood stars were there, the models were beautiful, the musical performances were great, and it was all topped off by a fantastic firework display at the end.
After the show we headed out for a couple of drinks, and a stroll through the piazza, before Mary dropped me off at my scooter and we said or see you laters. As I climbed into bed that night I couldn’t help but smile and say… just another night in Ischia.
The next few days passed almost without me noticing. The usual, lazy afternoons spent on the scogliera, dinners with the family, and warm nights spent sipping a Rucolino on the patio of one bar or another. I wished I could’ve stayed longer, but I knew that if I didn’t leave soon, I never would. So I packed my bags and planned my journey to Croatia. I didn’t have any idea yet, but what a journey that would be!
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