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Gift Buying in Lucca. Crazy fun little purchases! Acquisti folli!

By Melissa Muldoon
Monday, June 30th, 2014
gift-buying-Lucca

il proprietario che canta!

Di recente, dopo aver viaggiato per l’Italia, sono tornata a casa con alcune cose veramente interessanti. In genere per me la parte più divertente di fare shopping e fare due chiacchiere con i proprietari dei negozi. Generalmente ho smesso di comprare ceramiche, ma qualche volta potrei essere persuasa a comprare un piccolo pezzo dipinto a mano, soprattuto se il proprietario del negozio cantasse un po’ d’opera e correggesse la mia pronuncia. Mi è successo recentemente a Lucca quando un proprietario affascinante ha corretto la pronuncia della parola “radici” quando gli ho spiegato perché parlo italiano nonostante non sia di origine italiana. Insomma, una lezione di grammatica, oltre ad una canzone! Come potevo resistere a comprare una piccolissima ciotola decorata con le immagini dei girasoli?

When I travel to Italy these days I return home with some of the craziest things. Mostly because the best part of shopping for me is chatting with the shop owners. Generally I don’t buy ceramics any more, but sometimes I can be persuaded to buy a small piece of hand painted pottery, especially if the shop owner sings a bit of opera and corrects my pronunciation. This actually happened in Lucca when a charming shop owner corrected my pronunciation of the word “radici” (roots) when I attempt to explain to him why I speak Italian, but have no Italian ancestral heritage. Grammar lesson, plus a song! How could I resist buying a small bowl decorated with yellow sunflowers.

gift-buying-Lucca

dare un’occhiata nelle vetrine

Mentre sono in Italia mi piace dare un’occhiata alle vetrine di alta moda, ma i miei negozi preferiti rimangono librerie come la Feltrinelli e IBS. Ma più che le grandi catene di librerie, preferisco andare a spasso per le bancarelle di libri usati per trovare fumetti classici e altri titoli per solo 1 o 2 euro. Lucca ha un bel mercato di antiquari vicino a Piazza Napoleone dove si possono trovare tanti tesori come vecchi fumetti di Dylan Dog e Julia. Naturalmente ne ho comprato alcuni copie. Il mercato dell’antiquariato è anche un luogo perfetto per iniziare una conversazione con il proprietario del banco dei libri … lui può anche aiutarvi a trovare alcune grandi offerte.

While in Italy, I adore checking out the high fashion window displays, but my favorite stores are still book shops like Feltrinelli and IBS. But even more than the big chain stores, I enjoy wandering around the used book vendor stalls and finding classic comic books and other vintage classics for just 1 or 2 Euro. Lucca has a lovely little antiquities market off of Piazza Napoleone where you can find all kinds of treasures and pick up copies of Dylan Dog and Julia comics. Naturally I bought a few copies. The antique market is also a low key place to strike up a conversation with the owner of the book carts…he can also help you find some great deals.

Acquisti_folli_StudentessaMatta1

gift-buying-Lucca

i proprietari di “Penelope” molto geniali!

Mi piace anche girare per i negozi nei centri storici come via Fillungo a Lucca, dove si può trovare qualsiasi cosa si possa immaginare, scarpe, gonne, cioccolato e gelato ad attrezzature per la cucina, e prodotti per i cani e la casa. Il mese scorso nella piazza San Frediano ho trovato un piccolo negozio particolarmente carino chiamato “Penelope” che si rivolge alle “nonne professioniste” che cucinano ogni domenica e anche ai cuochi di poco talento (come me). Dentro a questa “Mecca della domesticità” – il punto di riferimento per gli articoli per la cucina – ho trovato perfino un paio di stampe per ravioli – da non predersi, una mezzaluna impressionante per tritare erbe e verdure, e anche un paio di cucchiai piccolissimi per mescolare lo zucchero in un’espresso. Un altro acquisto molto importante che ho fatto da “Penelope”, è stato una caffettiera (di marca “Moka”) che fa una suona musica quando il caffè è pronto. Avete capito bene?! FA LA MUSICA! Ho avuto un bel discorso con i proprietari sui vantaggi di comprare la caffetteria che suona l’inno italiano in onore della coppa mondiale, in rispetto ad una che suona una melodia qualsiasi. Ad ogni modo una caffettiera che canta, giustifica l’acquisto di quest’altro oggetto da aggiungere alla mia collezione già notevole che ho in casa!

I also love browsing the stores along the main drags in historic city center’s like Lucca’s via Fillungo, where you can find just about anything imaginable from shoes, skirts, chocolate & gelato to gadgets for the kitchen, dogs and house. Last month in the piazza San Frediano I found a delightful little kitchen store called “Penelope” that caters to the “professional nonnas” who cook every Sunday…to the not so talented wanna-be-cooks (like me). Inside this mecca of domestic bliss  – a point of reference for all kinds of kitchen implements – I found a couple of essential ravioli cutters that I simply had to have, an awesome mezzaluna for chopping up herbs and veggies, as well as a couple of teeny tiny spoons for stirring sugar into teeny tiny espresso cups. Another valuable purchase made in “Penelope”, was a Mocha Espresso pot that actually plays music when the coffee is ready! That’s right it PLAYS MUSIC! I had a nice little chat with the owners about the benefits of buying either the coffee pot that plays the Italian national anthem in honor of the World Cup, or one that played a generic little tune. At any rate a singing pot totally justifies me buying another Mocha pot to add to my already sizeable collection at home.

gift-buying-Lucca

le tazze con le smorfie!

Ma, probabilmente l’acquisto più folle che ho fatto durante l’ultimo viaggio, sono state sei tazzine con faccine con le smorfie e dentro ognuna c’è  una frase in italiano come “ti amo”, “uffa” e “sveglia”. Ho visto queste piccole “gemme” in una vetrina mentre passavo di lì ogni giorno andando a scuola. Forse il desiderio di acquistarle è cresciuto perché il negozio era sempre chiuso quando passavo; troppo presto per essere aperto alle nove; chiuso all’una per pranzo; aperto tra le cinque e le sette del pomeriggio proprio quando ero fuori con il gruppo. Infine l’ultimo giorno in cui sono passata dal negozio, nonostante fosse l’ora di pranzo, l’ho trovato aperto. L’ho preso come un segno del destino e sono entrata in fretta e furia per comprare le tazze. Sei euro per sei tazze. Proprio un buon affare! Molto bene! Geniale! Anche se le tazze sono un po’ ridicole ed economiche, mi faranno sempre pensare alla mia passeggiata quotidiana a scuola. Sono i piccoli acquisti, quelli che hanno una storia o che sono collegati ad un’esperienza memorabile (come ad esempio una conversazione con il proprietario di  un negozio) che creano per me, i migliori ricordi.

But, probably the craziest acquisition I made this time around, was a set of 6 espresso cups that sport little faces with little grimaces, and written inside each one is an Italian expression like “ti amo”, “uffa” and “sveglia”. I saw these little gems in a shop window on my way to school each day. Perhaps the desire to acquire them was heightened by the fact that the shop was always closed when I passed by; too early to be open at 9am when I was on my way to school; closed at 1pm for lunch and much of the afternoon; open only a brief time from 5pm e 7pm when I was out of the city with my group. Finally the last day as I passed by the shop, I found it still open, despite the late lunch time hour. I took this as a sign and swooped in and made my purchase. Six euro for six little cups. Not bad I thought. Perfect! And even if the cups are a little goofy & cheap they will always make me think about my daily walk to school. It’s the little purchases, such as those that have a story to tell or that are connected to a memorable experience (such as a conversation with a store owner) that make for me the best souvenirs.

gift-buying-Lucca

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Categories : language learning
Tags : fare shopping in Italia, italia, italian, Italy, Lucca Italian School, Melissa Muldoon, Studentessa Matta

Comments

  1. Gian Banchero says:
    July 30, 2014 at 4:11 pm

    Is there a one in a billion chance that readers (ME!!!) can be provided with the name of the store that sells those great espresso cups CON LE SMORFIE? Thank you for your great articles! ~ ~Gian

    Reply
    • Melissa says:
      July 30, 2014 at 5:06 pm

      Ciao Gian, I bought the le tazze in a little home/domestic appliance store in Lucca on Via Paolino. I don’t remember the name of the store, sorry. But I just did a quick search and found the cups on ebay.

      I used search terms: “tazze con le smorfie 6”

      http://www.ebay.it/itm/Confezione-6-tazze-da-caffe-colorate-decoro-con-smorfia-e-messaggio-/160747809563

      http://www.ebay.it/itm/TAZZE-PAZZE-SET-6-TAZZA-TAZZINE-CAFFe-SMORFIE-COLORATE-016721-/121203880290

      Happy Hunting!

      Reply
  2. Gian Banchero says:
    July 30, 2014 at 4:13 pm

    And address of the store… (‘<_')o {grazie

    Reply

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