Saturday Market

July 5, 2008 Last night I told Kim that I was going to set the alarm clock so that we would get up in time to make it to Saturday Market. It's a big day and begins early (for us). So, the alarm was set for 8AM and we made it out (after coffee and me moaning about all my mosquito bites)by around 10 AM.

Everyone is out; the streets are crowded and the activity and anticipation of shopping becomes easily infectious. Everyone is carrying multiple bags overflowing with treasures of vegetables, cheeses, bread, meats, t.p. Actually the list is endless.

I so have to contain myself and Kim is such a good sport as she accompanies me. It should be noted that in the US, I will not go grocery shopping with Kim; she whines too much and always wants to leave. Here in Italy (a bit different ambiance?) she accompanies gladly and rarely makes a comment about is it time to go...

In our three weeks here, we have returned to some of the same stalls and the vendors recognize us. Our cheese/prosciutto vendor knows that I point a lot and when it comes to determining the amount, I count out the number of swipes on the cutting machine. So, it's uno, due, tre, quatro....his wife smiles behind his back b/c he does act just a tiny bit grumpy. I know I will eventually win him over.

Our vegetable vendor is an Asian woman and her husband; she is always very nice to me. When we walk away from her stand we have a bag full of veggies that's always under 3 Euro (around $5.00).

We go to various other places, a fish market; this week's treat are salmon steaks. They have huge fish cut up with other creatures of the sea that we cannot identify. Always there is a huge swordfish being systematically carved away; Kim says we are not allowed to buy it because of mercury content. We stop by a fresh pasta parlor and Kim chooses spinach gnocchi. AND, of course, the bread; we have our favorite Sicilian bakery but at the market, we'll explore a new bakery and choose a loaf from there.

Then it was a trip to the Euro store where we bought a damp mop, scissors, and for Kim, hangers (she's just a bit obsessed with hangers but that's another story...). We ended at the local Farmacia (pharmacy) which are on almost every corner. About 3 days ago, I began getting bitten to total death each night by what we are assuming are mosquitoes. Kim has zero, last night I received around 18 new ones... I just knew this was going to happen so I am t r y i n g to take it in stride. We purchased 2 aerosol containers of some type of repellent (I wanted DEET and our helper said, "oh, no....")and a topical cream. Yes, I do know that this is more information than you'd ever care to have but blogging comes from a different part of the brain and so, there you have it. I let our pharmacist know that we are here for a year and she and her assistant both smiled as she replied, "then we are now your pharmacy so please come back to see us". We certainly will.