Market Day in Piandimeleto

October 4, 2006 Today was market day! I had been looking forward to it because last week I chose to get my hair done instead of going to market, so Larry went by himself. I was planning on looking at screens for the fireplace and an old lady's shopping cart--you know those tall baskets on wheels? We usually buy water in litre bottles that come in six packs. They are very heavy when you are going home "a piedi."

This is what we saw when we looked off to the left as we were headed up the road. The forecast was for rain in the morning and again in the afternoon. We hoped we would at least make it there before the rain hit. The distance to Piandimeleto is anywhere from 2 km to 4 km (1.2 miles or 2.4 miles) depending on who you ask. The walk is only bothersome because the sidewalk ends just a little past Belforte. After that, you have to either walk on the bumpy, grassy shoulder or walk on the road and keep an eye and ear out for cars so that you can move over.

We arrived safely and dry! Here are some shots of the market from different angles. You can see that it is about 3 or 4 times bigger than the market here in Belforte. It's funny though, we go up there almost every Wednesday, but seldom buy more than fruit & veggies which we could just as easily buy in our local grocery store! Today we bought fruits, veggies, walnuts, and cheese. The cheese was for our friend Felice (age 75). We saw him working in his yard when we passed by, so we asked if he wanted anything from the market. He said he wanted this cheese that cost 6.50 euro a kilo. So we asked what it was called and he finally came up with a name that we promptly forgot. The only thing we could remember was that it started with an "M." The only cheese they had that started with an "M" was called "mucca" which also means cow and we knew that wasn't the right name. So we bought a different one for him which, of course, was not the right one, but he liked it so that was Okay! Before heading home I stopped at the "giornale" to buy some paper for the printer I hope to get this week. I totally forgot about the cart I wanted and didn't like the fireplace screens, so back to buying only fruits & veggies with a few walnuts thrown in!

On the way home, I stopped to take this picture of the river--or maybe you would call it a stream! It is actually called the Fiume Foglia and it also runs through Belforte. The skies were getting very dark and we had a few sprinkles off and on, all the way home. We were very lucky as a few hours later we got quite a storm. It rained pretty hard and you could hear thunder in the distance.

Larry took Felice the cheese and tried to help him get his lawnmower started. The two of them messed with the wires and screws, but were unable to start it. So they went in the house and had some coffee and then some wine. Then Felice fixed himself lunch and told Larry that his wife was probably waiting at home with his lunch! The little house in the front belongs to Felice.

Paola came by in the afternoon and we were able to pay our rent. We also paid 100 euro for our share of paying to have our rental contract registered. She called Telecom (our phone company) for us to make sure the international plan had been activated because we had not received the confirmation in the mail. She called when we first got back and they told her it would be activated in 48 hours. Well, guess what? It is still not activated! She wanted to talk to someone else, but after being on hold for quite a few minutes, a recording came on to say that they were closed! Oh well. Tomorrow is another day!