Boots and Bidets

We hadn’t planned to buy shoes, but we just couldn’t help ourselves. Boots are the rage all over Italy, boots of all styles. Boots on the outside of pants is a very big thing. So are slouchy boots with ties. Here's a little bit of boot action that Howard caught while we were in Lucca the other day:

So, on our way to the Pitti Palace on Sunday, we found a shop that had lots and lots of boots for a very fair price.

I was trying to decide between three pair that I liked, and well, what can I say, I have a great husband because I came out with three (THREE) pair! Here they are:

After I got my boots, Howard scrutinized his sandals, the ones he has been wearing for the past two weeks. He decided a nice Ipair of Italian shoes would be in order for him, too. So after lots of window shopping, we found a really cool pair of comfortable, sleek, casual black shoes.

On the topic of fashion, here are some trends we've noticed:

Shiny shoes, especially metallic tennis shoes - for men and women.

Purple. Anything and everything in clothing is purple, even shades of purple (lavender). And the purple clothing is for men and women.

Orange pants are the rage on men. Red and yellow, too. I think I have Howard convinced to get a pair of orange ones ‘cause I really like them a lot!

Memo to self: I am getting really tried of staring at men's penises at eye level - COME ON!

Please note: Howard is not getting tired to seeing women's breasts - at eye level or otherwise!


Since this has turned out to be a rather random post, here is a description of our shopping experiences at the COOP, an Italian grocery store we frequented while in Volterra:

Upon entering a grocery store, carry baskets are free, but if you wish to use a full-size shopping cart, that will cost you .50 Euro. When selecting produce, you are required to wear a plastic glove. Once your pieces are chosen, you put it on a scale, bag it, weight it, and out comes a price sticker, which you place on the bag. At the meat counter, they have real live meat cutters who cut and wrap your selections. They also have large hunks of cured pig shoulders hanging all around in the meat department/produce area. Eggs are kept on the shelf at room temperature. Orange juice comes in paper boxes and are kept on the shelf at room temperature. And my favorite yogurt, KYR, comes in a little glass jar, similar to a baby food jar (and the jars that I kept from our hotel in Rome). At the check-out, the checkers are all seated and you bag your own groceries. Plastic bags are .03 Euros for a small one, and .05 for a large.

That's it for tonight. Howard has gone silent and is a lazy bum. He says he has writer's block, but I think he just wants to get some sleep.