Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Buon Appetito!

Fresh produce day in Bolzano.

My Italian friend had business in a nearby town so I decided to tag along, in search of a t-shirt. How very American of me.


Now, I know they have t-shirts because I see every guy in town sporting one but it's a well kept secret as to where they get 'em.


Oh, I hate to even acknowledge this sad fact but my days here are numbered.

I'm leaving on Sunday ~ this marvelous month has flown by so quickly ~ and while I had pah-lenty of time to go shopping, send postcards, and do all the things required of you when you're traveling...

I have not purchased a dang thing for the horse sitters, house sitters and orchid sitters on my list.

Other than to sucker my Italian friend's husband out of 2 of the most delightful bottles of local wine I've ever experienced.

So, you'd think ~ since I was in the big city ~ I'd knock a few things off my to-do list. Instead, I poked around the local market.

Don't those artichokes look yummy??

The local spice shop.
Food, here, is a celebration of everything that's good about life. (I've not seen a 'healthy eating' commercial since I arrived and NO ONE is on a diet. Such a refreshing change from health-obsessed USA.)

Shopping is a joy, as well. There's the bread shop, the cheese shop, the meat shop and the glorious produce that shows up every Wednesday causing a frenzied amount of dickering among the locals.

Buon Appetito! They say, before picking up their forks and slowly savoring every bite of every meal.

Stores close each day from noon to three, so the shop owners can properly enjoy their lunch. A three hour lunch is standard fare!

That is one of the many traditions I'd like to bring home with me to America.

I wonder how long it will take before I get fired? :D


* Speck is the local's prosciutto and it is to. die. for. So much so, that before the full body screeners showed up at the airports a friend of ours smuggled Speck home strapped to her bod to avoid getting busted going through customs.

8 comments:

The Hag said...

Those artichokes are HUGE! Yum! All the produce looks so beautiful -- makes me hungry for summer. And 3 hour lunches? Lovely. Thanks for sharing your beautiful photo-journal of your trip.

ProfessorRoush said...

A month already! My, how time has flown. Thanks for sharing Italy with us!

Gloria Bonde said...

Kate, how absoloutely wonderful!!

KC said...

Where did February go? I have loved going along with you on your big adventure. The photos and descriptions have been wonderful.

I wonder where all that lovely produce is coming from. I'm guessing they bring it in from warmer climates like our local supermarkets but it looks like so much more fun to buy it outdoors.

You are missed at home. Can't wait to hear about your travels in person.

Carly said...

February is such a short month! Seeing all your pictures makes me really, really want to go to europe. All the flowers out in the open make it feel to me like spring is already almost there. Cursed long Utah winters!

It's funny, I'm working on an evaluation argument for my writing class and I'm going to be writing about 'healthy food' and if the government should control what we're eating the way they control drugs and other unhealthy things. It would be so much better if we simply slowed down and cooked a good meal ourselves every once in a while. To bad a three hour lunch would never fly here. :(

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi, Katherine;
I love stuffed artichokes so when I saw those giant beauties I thought.. oh, my. If I had a real kitchen over here I'd be cooking up a storm.

Miss you, too, KC.
It was hard trimming the photos down to just a few. I have loads more to share when I get back.

Zombie --
As silly as it sounds I would LOVE to read your thoughts on the healthy eating subject. Americans do too much mindless eating, in my humble opinion. But, I'm also curious to get your perspective on the lack of nutrition in so many of our food products. It's a hot button for me. (Obviously! :-)

sweetbay said...

The produce at that market is gorgeous! I can't believe it's been a month already. Italy sounds like a marvelous place.

Brenda said...

I have just found this post! I've missed it enjoying the Venice carnivale masks. That groceries are just amazing!