Guest Post: Secrets to a Healthy and Beautiful Italian Life

Today I have a special guest post for you beauties by EttaSimo (aka Simonetta Marino) an Italian blogger in love with travel and food – so the essentials really! 🙂 I hope you enjoy and start dreaming about your Italian-Roman getaway, because I know I am! 

I take care of my skin every day, trying to choose the products that best meet my needs.

Also, I am very fussy about my diet. I do believe in the expression “You are what you eat” and think that food has deep influence on our health and well-being. Besides looking after my diet, I drink at least 2 litres of water a day and on top of that, I only drink alkaline water which is known to have lots of benefits for our body e.g. supercharging our immune system to fight the ageing process being so rich in antioxidants (to make my water alkaline I use a traditional water ionizer: it is a huge investment, but it is definitely worth it).

Last but not least, I try to do some training everyday in order to oxygenate my body: half-an-hour walking every day can be enough should you fail to find the time to do a more specific sports activity.

This is what I do every day and I want to stress “every day” as discipline is the essential ingredient. At the beginning it is tough, I must admit it, but as soon as you start to see some changes in the way you feel, this works as a stimulus to keep on going. After a while, it becomes a must: you cannot live without it. At least, this is what happened to me.

Apart from what I do every day, I have developed the pleasant habit to pamper myself at least twice a year. How? By taking some time off, usually a weekend or a longer break and heading towards a thermal resort where I can take care of myself in a much more profound way. Fortunately, I live in Italy, a country that for its own geological history is rich in mineral springs.

At the moment I am living in Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliet.

Sometimes treasures happen to be close to home. This is true in my case.

There is a small town, in the province of Brescia, beautifully nestled in the majestic Alpine range, but very easy to reach, which is famous throughout the world for the its thermal baths. I am talking of Boario Terme, north to Lake Iseo.

What I most like about this spa resort is the fact that it is not huge and, for this reason, you have the chance to experience it in a very intimate way. 

Some friends of mine criticize my choice: they consider this area suitable mainly for middle aged couples. However, I totally disagree with them: the resort has been recently renovated so to attract a much younger target.

The spa is absolutely divine and can meet the needs of the most demanding customers. As the centre is quite small, I always drop them a call and book my place to avoid any surprises. Prices are consistent with other spa resorts in the North of Italy (indeed not so cheap) and included slippers and bathrobe.

The staff are delightful, always nice and helpful. As soon as you get in, they will fully explain all different things you can do there. The spa includes different areas where you can dedicate to your well-being.

There is the so-called Wet Zone equipped with sauna, Turkish bath, multi-sensory showers, the classic Kneipp therapy, ice fountains and an amazing salt room for a regenerating session.

Otherwise, you can enjoy the thermal pool in the Swimming Zone exploiting all the benefits of the minerals in the water or enjoy the thousands of bubbles in the Whirpool Zone.

If you prefer, just sit and let it go in the Relax Zone sipping some detox teas, having fresh fruit and relax with delicate Chromo-therapeutic lights. If it is a sunny day, you can even sunbathe in the Solarium Zone.

When I go there, I always book a massage or a body treatment as well to make the most of my wellness break.

Another thermal area I’d like to visit once in a while is Ischia, an island of volcanic origin in the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Gulf of Naples.

Ischia was one of the ancient Greek colonies in Southern Italy. Today it is mainly a tourist resort that bases its international success on the hot springs originated from the natural volcanic activity of the island.

Organising my wellness break in Ischia is much more demanding than in Boario Terme, as Ischia is almost 800 kilometres from Verona. I need to organize both my transport and my accommodation.

Transport You can catch a flight to Naples International Airport (Capodichino), shuttle bus to Beverello and Mergellina (the two ports in Naples) and then ferry to Ischia itself. You can find useful information here or here.

Accommodation Normally I book my accommodation browsing the main online booking websites, above all Booking.com. Recently I’ve found very good deals for Ischia on HotelsClick. As an alternative, a friend of mine told me about Airbnb, a new online booking specialised in apartments but I have yet to try it for myself.

What is great about Ischia is that almost every single hotel, even the smallest or cheapest, has its own spa and wellness centre. So, it is totally up to you, depending on your budget. Bear in mind that South Italy is much less expensive than the North.

I hope this post has inspired you beauty bees, I know that for a little while I was taken away to Italy and I could imagine myself relaxing in an ancient thermal bath or hot spring! Have you been to Italy? Let me know in the comments below! Should you have any specific questions for EttaSimo, post them in the comments below and I’m sure that she will do her best to get them answered!

Catch ya next time beauty bees – maybe in another part of the world? 😉

Beauty Bee~

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