Rainy Day on the Adriatic Sea

It seems as though bad weather followed me here.

I woke up to rain and frizzy hair.

The wind howled, the trees shook, rain fell diagonally and it was really impossible to do anything today but read and shop.

I seem to run into these poor umbrellas on rainy days. I'm sure there is a piece of  heaven where these umbrellas float in the sky.

 I didn't mind my options so much since it was such a rotten day outside. Before leaving NJ I downloaded free books from NJ Digital Libraries where you can get free ebooks if you have a NJ library card. Being an active library goer allowed me to download four books but only have 7 days to read them before they automatically delete from my Kindle.  I am currently reading "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed that is absolutely amazing. I got through about 70% of it, according to my Kindle. I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves the Pacific Northwest or has ever gotten in a camping scrape. The girl hiked alone over 500 miles in the wilderness averaging 19 miles a day! Reading the book makes me feel like I am burning calories and building lean muscle. If only!

Then the hubby and I made a list of groceries to buy and headed out into the howling wind. The rain smacked across the windshield with violent determination not to let up and give us the option of doing anything fun. So to the grocery store we went. Over the river and through the puddles to the grocery store we went.

Passing rainy fields of grape vines.

I was hit with wave after wave of memories in the Iper grocery store.

In Italy, children are given chocolate eggs for Easter. Eggs are a historical symbol of birth and life but in this case the chocolates are simply tasty. This one was about 20 feet tall and just for show show. 

Lots of chocolate eggs.

Pasta! At long last. Did you know there are over 1,000 types of pasta in Italy? 

Freselle. So good with tuna in the summer.

Legumes are also big in Italy. In fact, they were a principal food before pasta was introduced by explorers who went to China. Yep! Romans used to eat a hearty diet of beans, lentils and more beans. 

Ricotta. Barrels of it. I'm not sure where ricotta originated historically from but it is one of my favorite cheeses. I do know that it is the past part of the milk used after more important cheeses are made.

In Italy, you must weigh and sticker your own fruits and veggies.

My mele, or apples.

Bread the size of a 6 year old child. Pane rustico. We got a good foot of it sawed off to take home. 

You must pay 10 cents for your grocery bags and get this: bag it yourself! Yes ma'am! Roll up them sleeves and get to work!

 I saw all my old cleaning brands, cheese, PASTA galore then....when I had almost started to feel normal again in my old grocery store I saw something that made me laugh out loud:

Hello Kitty Diapers for that Hello Kitty poop

A Hello Kitty lamp in case it is Hello kitty dark

Wipe that hiney with some Hello Kitty toilet paper! They just don't give up on creepy Hello Kitty products!

And cook away safely knowing that your Hello Kitty paper towels will clean up any spill.

Remember my creepy Hello Kitty Post? Well, it seem as if there are more Hello Kitty items to discover.


Then we went to a shoe store. Italian shoes.....heaven! Only to discover that the recent trend of spiked  heels has crawled across the Atlantic ocean and landed in Italy. Just for fun, I rolled up my jeans and tried on these 8 inch heels.

An endless sea of heels. 

I bet my mom could have rocked these back in her day singing "Stayin Alive"

Then I saw them: glossy white 8 inch heels with candy colored spikes on them. Giggling, I scurried over to my husband, pulled off my Pumas, pulled up my Pippy Longstocking socks and teetered into these bad boys laughing like a moron.

My husband and I were busy laughing  like a pair of dufuses when a mall cop rolled up and told us to turn the camera off.

The height of these can't be appreciated from this shot. 

These spiked trashy heels are to be respected!

Then we returned home to enjoy the olive bread that is more olive than bread. MMMM