Saturday, October 21, 2006
We woke late this morning and rushed through breakfast in order to make it to the market. It seems that the entire town turns out for market day! Once we found parking, which took quite awhile, we eagerly joined the market throng.
Our idea was to pick up a little salami, cheese and bread so that we could have an al fresco lunch later. The first vendor that we saw realized right away that we were tourists! We asked for some cheese and olives. We wanted a small slab of cheese --- just enough for lunch. He kept saying “Bambino” really loud over and over…. And pulled out a cheese about the size of a baby! We ended up getting the entire thing! We also ended up with way too many olives. But that was okay --- more for us! It reminded me of the old I Love Lucy episode where she leaves Italy with a HUGE cheese, wrapped up in a blanket like a baby. She kept calling it “Bambino” on the flight….
Anyway, Gary went in search of salami and I went in search of fruit. I think that you can find just about anything that you might want at the market. They sold hardware, gardening implements, and large packages of seeds for planting. All of this in addition to fresh fruits, nuts, veggies, cheeses, meats, and fish…. It was very loud and confusing. I think that made it more fun!
We finally left the market and meandered off… with our bambino-sized cheese, salami, too many olives, fruit and chestnuts. We happened upon a yarn store that I had seen the evening before. The yarn selection in this little closet of a store was amazing! The owner had lots of wool and silk yarns. She (the owner) didn’t speak any English and I don’t speak Italian. But it was really cool to see how well we could communicate about a common hobby. I was able to communicate to her what I wanted to make with the yarn – and she suggested an amount to buy. I’m kind-of new to the crocheting scene but I know enough to determine that she didn’t try to cheat me by selling me too much. She showed me some of the beautiful shawls and ponchos that she had made --- and actually had for sale. It was really nice to share a common love with a stranger. It made us not quite strangers.
After leaving the yarn shop, we headed for San Gimignano. San G is a lovely old Tuscan city. 14 of its 62 original towers are still standing. In the Middle Ages, it was an important stop along a trading and pilgrimage route. We made it to San G. without any mishap – Gary is definitely getting the hang of driving in Italy. It was raining, though, and as we were walking up to the old part of town, I slipped, fell and was covered in mud. That sort-of set me into a grumpy mood…. (Which is probably why I ended up not liking San G very much.) This was the first place where we encountered some snotty shopkeepers. I had been looking for a pair of boots for myself since we got to Italy – and after slipping I really wanted different footwear. I poked my head into a couple of shops and was treated a bit rudely. Oh well, I just kept my Euros in my pocket and found somewhere else to spend them! Even though I had a couple of irritable experiences with shopkeepers, we did meet a couple of really enjoyable folks --- First, we met a shopkeeper in a purse shop. She was just a tiny little thing – a spitfire! We talked up a storm, laughed and I walked out with a new purse for Maegan! Then there was the guy in the wine shop. Up until this point we hadn’t done much wine tasting in Italy. We had planned to but I think we were both nervous about being tipsy and trying to drive afterwards. But today, we decided to taste some wines. We found a little out of the way place and sampled some of the Chianti. The wine guy (I forgot his name…) was very knowledgeable. Once he found out that we were from the SF Bay area (= Napa) we really got to talking about wines! We also taught him a new English word to describe a taste --- sharp. One of the Chiantis that we tried was a little young and had a decidedly sharp bite. We told him this and he looked puzzled. We tried to explain it as he grabbed his English/Italian dictionary. He tasted it with us and rooted around in the dictionary. We laughed a lot and may or may not have agreed on ‘sharp’ as a description of that wine. But no matter, we walked out with a couple of bottles, his business card and his website address!
It rained hard while we were there. So we finally headed into a crowded restaurant that was situated in the center of town. It was full of tourists (I guess we fit into that category!). We squeezed in, told the waiter “due” (for two) and found ourselves seated to an older couple. As soon as we sat, we ordered ‘un cappuccino’ and ‘un cioccolato caldo con latte’ (hot chocolate with milk). The older couple wasn’t very friendly at first. But once Gary and I started talking to each other in English, the couple brightened up! And they were absolutely delightful – Bud and Jackie from Pennsylvania. Their daughter lived in Wilkes-Barre, which is an area that I am familiar with due to drum corps! What a small world! They were retired and had been in Europe for quite awhile. They started out on a 19-day tour, and then had spent some time at their daughter’s place (I think she lives in France) where they were able to do laundry! And now they were touring by themselves. I think that they were also ready to go home. It is nice to be on vacation, but like Dorothy says…. There’s no place like home.
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