Saturday morning market, Opera

I went to Opera's market Saturday morning.

And I LOVE it!

The market is a pretty good size for a small town... selling clothes and random things... and lots of fruits, vegetables, cheeses, meats, etc.

I stocked up on cheese... getting two huge hunks of asiago and provolone. First walking into the market, I ran into the elementary school principal and his family and he recommended one of the cheese guys and the asiago. ...Good choice!

Then I was also able to get blueberries, local tomatoes, and some basil. (Next up? - fresh mozzarella from the dairy vending machine in town!)

The basil was 1.50 euro for two bushels... I asked for one bushel and it was 1.00 euro... hmmmm... lesson learned. (It was about 0.35 for the same amount at the grocery store when I bought it there.)

I also bumped into two teachers from school, Katie and Angela (--Angela, my travel buddy from the night before!). We decided to meet up at a cafe down the street in a bit for a coffee and chat. That was really nice; I enjoyed it.   : )

While I was waiting to get the basil, a guy popped in front of me and enthusiastically waved and said hello. ...My new friend, Paolo the Taxi Man!! Haha. I love it. Angela said that he also recognized her and said hello. I think being friends with the taxi man will be awesome.

As I was leaving the market, my eye caught CANNOLIS. I back-tracked... asked for uno cannoli and now truly had a bag full of treats to take home. Perrrrfect.

Note: the cannoli was amazing.

I will definitely be making regular trips to the Saturday market! I surely hope it's open year-round.

My belly is mostly full of delicious cheeses right now.

...And after our cafe date -- Angela, Katie, and I walked through Opera a bit. Angela showed us where the guy's shop is for wine and olive oil. Basically, you bring bottles (or he has some)... and he'll fill it with wine for 2 euros. He also has a great selection of olive oils. Ooooookay! I'm loving the sound of this. ...And getting great ideas of what I can do with my parents and brother, Sean, when they come for the winter holidays. (Stoked!!)


Learnings from my first trip to the market:

• asiago cheese costs about 3 times that of provolone... but it's worth it
• basil is expensive... I need to learn to grow my own
• a cannoli is 2.50 euros... and also totally worth it
• next trip? --> find the Chicken Man everyone has been raving about