I love markets!!! Add Italy to the equation and you get aweeesooome!. Last Saturday my husband and I drove to Italy, Domosdosola, to check out their weekly Saturday market. I didn't know what to expect, but there is a similar weekly Friday market we have here in Sion, Switzerland. I was told to expect something bigger, bustling and cheaper.
We got up really early so that we have enough time for a good breakfast, get dressed and out the door by 7:30am. Unfortunately, as expected my husband took his time getting ready, having a smoke, a coffee, his usual morning routines. I was in no spirit to rush him, he'd be doing all the driving anyway. By 8am we left the house and heading towards the border. My husband was reminiscing his childhood memories of taking that same route to the market. Tales of how him and his family use to laugh at the stretch of road once inside the Italian territory. The roads are said to be old and not maintained.
At the border I was happily snapping away when the guard saw me and asked the we pull over. In his heavily accented English he explained that it is forbidden to take pictures because it is a military zone. Fair enough it was a bit of a joke but we understood. So I offered to delete them in front of him.
Even without a gate it was quite obvious when you entered the Italian territory, the roads are old, cracking and the railings are rusty. (what is Berlusconi doing with the tax payers money?) Compared to 10 minutes back, it is a totally different scenario. But I gotta admit I love Italy, the people in their sing-songy language and their big smiles just makes you want to sing and dance along.
The market was well set up along the old part of the city. Winding through the narrow streets of Domosdosola. Be warned that Domosdosola is a very little town on the outskirts of Italy, close to the border with Switzerland. The closest biggest city would be Milano I presume. Most of the people coming to this market are not locals. There were Germans, English, French but the majority were from Valais.
We started off exploring the food section which carries a variety of cheese, homemade jams, sausages, ham, salami and some typically Italian cuisines. Another corner was dedicated to farmers and their fresh produce, I haven't seen a melon size Paprika before. Most of the fruits and vegetable are still out of season so the selection was limited to the basic veggies and fruits.
After trying out the Salamis and Parmesan we decided to start checking out the general stuff. We were both keen on finding good deals so off we went. I made a challenge to spend only 50 euros I had with me without going to the bank and converting more. My husband had a few euros on him also from his last trip to France.
We started off looking for shades, was lucky to find some gorgeously framed shades. Content with our find we continue on. I wanted a little sac so we went in search of one while exploring the old city and the market at the same time. Close by is a huge cathedral in a more circular architectural design, according to my husband it belongs to a different era than the typical rectangular cathedrals. Inside was beautifully decorated in all sorts of Catholic paintings and monuments.
I spotted a sac that I wanted so we headed straight for the stall. My husband decided to bargain a bit and successfully got the salesman to give us a 33% discount. A beautiful genuine leather sac, I was a bit skeptical at first, thinking that it was one of those synthetic leather bags despite the tag saying *genuine leather*. So I wasn't too keen on buying it for the asking price, but then I took it home and the strong smell of the leather gave me headaches, ah! its real leather *Duh!*. Well the reason was a synthetic leather bag would cost around 5000~10000 Japanese yen. But in the market for genuine leather it costs me like 30 euros. So yeah I'm so used to things being expensive that anything below a certain amount for me is fake.
Shoes! I love shoes and this market is a shoe haven. All sorts of classy designs way way cheaper than I could find here in Sion. I went crazy but I didn't buy any because my wardrobe is packed with shoes some I haven't worn. And judging by my husbands posture I don't think its wise to buy some more. But when I get a bigger flat and a bigger wardrobe I will go back and just take em all.
Gelato! if you ever travel to Italy always try some good gelato. Fancy name for Ice cream huh! I like it! Gelato in heavy Italian accent makes Latin living fun! For lunch we decided to head to a panini bar and indulge ourselves. A perfect light lunch and we head back to the market for one more look around before heading home.
We got up really early so that we have enough time for a good breakfast, get dressed and out the door by 7:30am. Unfortunately, as expected my husband took his time getting ready, having a smoke, a coffee, his usual morning routines. I was in no spirit to rush him, he'd be doing all the driving anyway. By 8am we left the house and heading towards the border. My husband was reminiscing his childhood memories of taking that same route to the market. Tales of how him and his family use to laugh at the stretch of road once inside the Italian territory. The roads are said to be old and not maintained.
At the border I was happily snapping away when the guard saw me and asked the we pull over. In his heavily accented English he explained that it is forbidden to take pictures because it is a military zone. Fair enough it was a bit of a joke but we understood. So I offered to delete them in front of him.
Even without a gate it was quite obvious when you entered the Italian territory, the roads are old, cracking and the railings are rusty. (what is Berlusconi doing with the tax payers money?) Compared to 10 minutes back, it is a totally different scenario. But I gotta admit I love Italy, the people in their sing-songy language and their big smiles just makes you want to sing and dance along.
The market was well set up along the old part of the city. Winding through the narrow streets of Domosdosola. Be warned that Domosdosola is a very little town on the outskirts of Italy, close to the border with Switzerland. The closest biggest city would be Milano I presume. Most of the people coming to this market are not locals. There were Germans, English, French but the majority were from Valais.
We started off exploring the food section which carries a variety of cheese, homemade jams, sausages, ham, salami and some typically Italian cuisines. Another corner was dedicated to farmers and their fresh produce, I haven't seen a melon size Paprika before. Most of the fruits and vegetable are still out of season so the selection was limited to the basic veggies and fruits.
After trying out the Salamis and Parmesan we decided to start checking out the general stuff. We were both keen on finding good deals so off we went. I made a challenge to spend only 50 euros I had with me without going to the bank and converting more. My husband had a few euros on him also from his last trip to France.
We started off looking for shades, was lucky to find some gorgeously framed shades. Content with our find we continue on. I wanted a little sac so we went in search of one while exploring the old city and the market at the same time. Close by is a huge cathedral in a more circular architectural design, according to my husband it belongs to a different era than the typical rectangular cathedrals. Inside was beautifully decorated in all sorts of Catholic paintings and monuments.
I spotted a sac that I wanted so we headed straight for the stall. My husband decided to bargain a bit and successfully got the salesman to give us a 33% discount. A beautiful genuine leather sac, I was a bit skeptical at first, thinking that it was one of those synthetic leather bags despite the tag saying *genuine leather*. So I wasn't too keen on buying it for the asking price, but then I took it home and the strong smell of the leather gave me headaches, ah! its real leather *Duh!*. Well the reason was a synthetic leather bag would cost around 5000~10000 Japanese yen. But in the market for genuine leather it costs me like 30 euros. So yeah I'm so used to things being expensive that anything below a certain amount for me is fake.
Shoes! I love shoes and this market is a shoe haven. All sorts of classy designs way way cheaper than I could find here in Sion. I went crazy but I didn't buy any because my wardrobe is packed with shoes some I haven't worn. And judging by my husbands posture I don't think its wise to buy some more. But when I get a bigger flat and a bigger wardrobe I will go back and just take em all.
Gelato! if you ever travel to Italy always try some good gelato. Fancy name for Ice cream huh! I like it! Gelato in heavy Italian accent makes Latin living fun! For lunch we decided to head to a panini bar and indulge ourselves. A perfect light lunch and we head back to the market for one more look around before heading home.
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