Monday 11th June 2018

Fishing Boats in Ischia Ponte

Welcome back everyone. We're mid-way through the afternoon lull on the island, that sleepy period between 1:30 and 4:30 just after lunch and just before the shops open again for the evening session. Touching on a point I made yesterday, one of the best things about living in Ischia are the greetings people give to each other which perhaps we don't have so much of in places like the UK. The phrase "Buon Appetito" is of course very well known and widely used at home but still not to the level it's used here. For example, strolling down to my local grocery about 1 o'clock you'll hear people saying "Buon Appetito" to each other even though they're not yet sitting down to eat. They say this because they know you will be eating at 1:30pm because anything else would be frankly rather strange behaviour! So even if you're on the phone to someone around that time of day and you haven't even broached the subject of lunch, it's perfectly normal to say "Buon Appetito" because of course, you're definitely about to stop and have lunch. A subtle little cultural difference but one that's always made me chuckle. On a practical note, it's worth mentioning that most shops will close on the island for the lunch period so if you've got shopping to do or generally need something done it's best to do so outside of these hours. On the other hand, it's a good time to go out if you need to drive somewhere as the roads are largely deserted. Back to matters meteorological, it's a fine day here, hot sun, flat sea and soft sand in abundance. Today's photo by the way comes from that gorgeous corner of the island, the village of Ischia Ponte where these fishermen are repairing their nets and generally doing fisherman stuff. Back with more soon. Ciao :-)