Italy Day 3 – It's Raining, It's Pouring

Groceries were first on the to-do list for today. While I was reading online articles in preparation for coming here, I discovered that shops are closed on Sunday and Monday morning. My flight arrived on Saturday night, so I brought along some food to hold me over until the stores opened today. After living on granola bars, instant soup, crackers, and a big chunk of mystery cheese (it's white and thankfully tastes okay) purchased at a gas station upon arrival, I'm ready for some “real” food.

The directions to the nearest grocery store were a little vague but after one wrong turn I found the place. I started walking through the store and quickly recognized the shallow breathing and pounding heart brought on by culture shock. I've felt it in Wales, England, and now Italy, and now the feeling just makes me smile and take a deep breath. I realize it's just my reaction to being overwhelmed and it'll soon pass.

I managed to find pretty much everything I was looking for; I want to shop at the little grocer, butcher, and bakery in Panicale so I didn't want to buy too much. I approached the deli counter for cheese and meat and the woman didn't speak a word of English. We ended up laughing a lot and thankfully brought along a little phrase book to help with a couple of questions. I heard the butcher tell another customer that I'm a tourist and don't speak Italian – I can understand that much! I basically just told her to give me whatever she would suggest – three kinds of cheese and a couple of types of meat. I also asked for foods from Umbria so I could try some local food. She pointed at a block of cheese and said something so I just smiled and said, “Si!” She dug into the block with a big spoon – turns out it's really soft and sloppy. Blech! I tried to ask her what to do with it but she had no idea what I was trying to ask. She called out to another shopper and she came over and it took a while but they finally knew what I was asking. I eventually caught the word, “Ricotta” and realized what I was buying. I asked, “Ricotta?” and they both excitedly said, “Si, si!” and I burst out laughing and nodded. Still not sure what to do with it, but they said it's good on bread with sugar – I think I've seen it mixed into fruit dips and stuff so I'll figure it out.

I also discovered that you have to weigh and print off price tags for each bag of fruit and vegetables. I figured this out because I didn't do it and when I got to the cashier she called for a girl over the intercom and handed off all my fruit and vegetables. When the girl came back, they all had price tags. Good to know! Won't make that mistake again!

I planned to do a bit of a road trip this afternoon but it was pouring rain. I tried anyway, but after over an hour driving in the rain with clouds low on all the hills, I realized it was quite pointless and I might as well return to Panicale and save the fuel. Light rain I can handle, but you really can't explore towns and take photos in the wind and pouring rain.

What horrible visibility looks like in Italy.