Eating and Shopping in Italy

Eating and shopping in Italy were fun things to do. We enjoyed numerous pasta dishes served in many different ways, of course. A full Italian evening meal might consist of an antipasti selection, a primi, a secondi, maybe a contorni, and possibly a dolce. That would be a huge meal. Normally, we would have an antipasti and either a primi or a secondi, and we frequently shared selections with each other. Antipasti can be a salad but is more typically what we would consider an appetizer. A huge favorite of mine was prosciutto (a dry-cured ham, often from the pork shoulder) with melon. The primi is typically a pasta selection, and these come in the full range of pasta shapes with many, many kinds of sauces and added items, like funghi (mushrooms), tomatoes, prosciutto, seafood, and other things. Secondi can be meat dishes, seafood, or vegetarian items, such as eggplant. They are not usually served with side dishes (contorni), so one could choose grilled vegetables or other items in addition if wanted. Dolci, of course, are the desserts, and these range from gelato (similar to ice cream) to tarts and many other kinds of sweets. Wine is always available and in Italy is almost always excellent. One usually orders water too, which always comes bottled in either still or carbonated forms, as you wish. Remember that prior posting about eating in Venice in the ristorante where the gondoleer came to our window? The two shots below were taken at that location. Kathie was eating linguini and clams, as I recall. I had gnocchi, which is a pasta made from potatoes.




For lunch, we could choose from panini or pizza. Panini are usually ready made sandwiches, stacks and stacks of which are nicely displayed and which are often grilled in a press. They are very good. Pizza comes in red (tomato sauces) or white versions (no sauce or other kinds of sauces). Pizzas are always very, very thin and crispy. I liked the red ones with anchovies, cheese, and olives or with prosciutto, mushrooms, and tomatoes. They are similar to, but also quite different from, pizzas we have here. Sorry, but we must admit that we stopped at a McDonald's one day too. The one near the Spanish Steps in Rome was said to be one of the most elaborate in all of Europe. Indeed, they had a gelato station, salad bar, coffee bar, and then the usual selections.



The shops were colorful, especially those that featured fresh foods. Note the prosciutto hanging in the shop shown below, the wine, and the fresh fruits and vegetables. In Venice, we saw fresh seafood on display and for sale.




There were many small shops on nearly every street we visited in each of Florence, Venice, and Rome. Many of them were quite specialized, featuring glass (Venice, especially), masks (again, Venice--there is a carnival or festival each year, we understand, where masks are common), hats and scarves, and on and on. Of course, leather goods in Italy are abundant and usually very well made. The name shops (Gucci, Ferragamo, and on and on) were very much in evidence. Window shopping was great fun, and we did pick up a number of keepsakes (the glass sculpture we mentioned in the Venice posting, a beautiful hand-painted ceramic plate). Below you can see us in our new headwear too.