A Trip to the Grocery Store

Today started with a trip to the market.  It rained last night, so everything was glistening and refreshed.  My stomach was growling on the way to the store.  We're still getting used to Italy's timetable.  Most shops are closed on Sundays.  We didn't realize how low on food we had gotten and forgot about not being about to shop on Sundays.  We don't have a car yet, so we couldn't just drive across town to one that was open.  We scrounged on what we had left but were still hungry when we went to bed last night.  We do have a couple of small containers of applesauce left, but that's not exactly a protein packed breakfast.

As far as the market goes, it's pretty small.  It's not exactly your hometown Walmart.  When I get to the register, I put my basket on the conveyor belt, but I have to take out the items for the cashier to ring them up and bag the items myself.  It's not really a big deal, especially since I only get a basketful at a time.

 Thankfully, their bags are really strong.  Every time I walk back to the hotel, I think of that scene in Home Alone.  You know, the one where Macaulay Culkin is walking home from the grocery store and the bags break open, spilling the contents on the sidewalk, and overwhelming dejection ensues.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgQpv0_STDw  Knowing my luck, cans of spaghetti sauce and spices would roll into the street, causing me to dodge Italian drivers.  If the items stopped on the crosswalk, I might survive, considering that drivers are usually good about slowing down for pedestrians at those areas.  However, if it was in one of the many roundabouts, forget it.  Just because there are turns doesn't mean that the vehicle will slow down out of concern for what might be around the corner.  Like me chasing groceries in the middle of the street.

A few notes about driving.  A lot of the cars here are small, although they do have their share of bigger vehicles.  It is law that all vehicles must drive with their headlights on.  I'm not sure if that applies to all streets though.  The autostrada runs east/west directly below Desenzano, where we are staying.  So, I've ridden on it a few times to get to surrounding cities.  It is a three lane highway.  The speed limit is about 80 mph, but nobody follows it.  If you do want to go the speed limit, stay in the right lane.  The middle lane goes a bit faster, but the left lane is reserved for those that like to go above 100 mph.  I recently rode with one of those drivers.  Terrifying.