Shopping for anything - food, clothes, shoes - in Italy is such a treat. You'd think you could find anything you could ever want in the U.S. or even online, but there's something about being there that makes the process so special. Not only do you get a material good, but you also have a great memory of getting it on a trip.
As I may have mentioned, Matt got himself some new shoes while we were in Lake Garda. It was quite comical, really - he had gotten a pair of brown shoes last October in Florence, and when we were looking around we came across the same shoe brand with some different styles. Matt ended up with three new pairs - a black one that was the same as his last pair, and two suede pairs - the blue (pictured here) and a tan/khaki color. The store owner told us these were the summer collection and the others were for winter. As soon as we get back to the states I want to scotch guard these just to be safe. They look really good on him!
On the way down to Florence, there was a request to visit some outlets. Here is the kind of crazy car you can expect to find at Italian "outlets." (The plates indicate it's from Russia, so I hope they're cool with his parking job)
Anyway, Matt was not amused at the "outlet" prices at these stores (we're used to our southern outlet chains where the nicest stores are Kate Spade and JCrew). I suppose we are not sophisticated enough for Gucci or Burberry....
What's more our speed? Italian grocery stores, like this big
Coop. We stocked up on plenty of wine, cookies and assorted snacks. I also got a new
Moka coffee pot.
I'm still baffled why it was completely packed on a Tuesday at 11am, though... When does everyone work around here?!
I thought it was pretty nifty that you could go into the store with empty detergent bottles and refill them.
Equally impressive was that one of my favorite drinks, the Aperol Spritz, had single-serve bottles for sale. Sadly we didn't pickup any.
Novelty items include peanut butter that was crazy expensive. These are super small jars (like around 12 oz).
Cereal can also be purchased in bulk!
Best friend Nathan would appreciate this one - he adores his Belgian Chimay, and this 1.5 liter bottle is a bargain at 15.90 Euro (or about $20.60)
They have a beautiful wine selection, as you'd expect.
My parents introduced me to Asti Spumante, the Italian version of Champagne that is sweeter - and when I told them how cheap it was I could hear the groans through the phone.
Many of the wine tastings we did had gorgeous and enticing stores where you wanted to hang out all day and buy tons of stuff.
....and were in caves, because why not?
This display was at a castle Matt and I visited on our engagement trip. They really know how to make their wines look even more attractive than they already are. There was also boxed wine for sale and we were pretty tempted.
Also important? Good Italian coffee. I found this machine outside of a parking garage in Verona. Illy is one of my favorite brands. We were on our way to lunch so we didn't grab one, but I've never had a bad coffee from a European machine, let alone one in Italy.
To sum up: When visiting Italy, make sure you have extra space in your suitcase going back - you never know what you'll find to wear, eat, or drink.
