Hi I'm a first-time Slow Traveller site visitor. I am going to Italy (Venice, Florence and Amalfi) for 2 weeks next month. I'm sure there are beautiful ceramics and leather goods and everything else that we've about in Italy, but is anything affordable? A friend told me that everything is too expensive and that in any case, you can buy everything cheaper over the internet. Please advise. Thanks!
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kim,
Posts: 3 | Location: Baltimore, MD USA | Registered: 24 August 2003
Welcome to Slowtrav, Sept! With the exchange rates being where they are, you probably won't find bargains-- but you will find something beautiful, and unique, and a remembrance of your time in Italy. On the main part of SlowTrav are some Favorite Shops , Ceramics Shops in Florence, Colleen's Shopping in Venice notes.
In addition, there are some great past threads on shopping on the message board. Use the "Find" button to locate threads on Florence leather, Amalfi shopping, etc.
Amy in MA "Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not." --Ralph Waldo Emerson
Posts: 8301 | Location: Newton (outside Boston), MA | Registered: 17 June 2001
Don't forget silk. As for expense, unless you have some serious need to do otherwise, travel cheaply, avoid splurging on taxicabs, rooms with minibars and jacuzzis, etc. -- you have those back home -- and do like Sally says: fall in love with something that will remind you of a lovely trip. Keep a diary to go with it.
Since you are in the amalfitana, buy a bottle or two of Ischia Bianco. Very hard if not impossible to find here. A day trip to Forio on Ischia for a little wine tasting would be great. I also love to collect artistist made ceramics which I have shipped home. I have had a lot of stuff shipped by Main Boxes Etc and never had a problem. Its a little expensive but that includes insurance and lotsof bubble wrap to prevent breakage.
I really think it is important to know what something would cost you at home. I know my first trip to Italy ( I was taking the train from Greece to Germany or something stupod like that) I jumped off the train for 2 hours, bought boots and a leather jacket.. I bought the jacket at the first tourist place I saw and paid $135 in 1977??? and saw the same jacket three years later as the new style for $350 in SF.
Real balsamic vinegar is twice as much as at home( 12 year old can be 44 Euro here and us about $90 in the states) as are most of the quality items in Italy.
quote:Originally posted by ira:Oh, a Pope snow globe.
Or a Swiss Guard Floaty Pen! This is one of my sister's most prized floaty's among her collection of nearly 200 from around the world!
Seriously, though, I echo the sentiments of others. Budget for some shopping, but spend it on items you fall in love with. You never quite know what those will be, when you will come across them, but you will find them.
I've found items there that are definitely less expensive than in the U.S. (though with the current exchange, I'm not so sure)- fabulous leather gloves and shoes (Prada!) spring to mind. Even these, though, were less bargains than they were items with which I became enamored, which are special, and which remind me of Italy every time I wear them.
I have a list of items to vaguely keep my eyes out for on my upcoming trip: shoes, a great-looking overnight bag for my husband (though we won't be traveling in any areas known for leatherwork), Ligurian olive oil, Piemontese wine, and, of course, a pair of capris- for my husband!
Shoes! This was my main purchase (along with 8 gorgeous pasta bowls in Deruta). There have to be more shoe stores per capita in Italy than anywhere and if you love shoes, as I do, pack only a couple pair and buy as you go. Prices are comparable to US and styles are ahead of the curve (at least for those of us in the relative "hinterlands" of places such as Portland!). Enjoy. P.S. Oh and I brought home bags of groceries-- inexpensive, but bulky, things that are common there but not here.
I found shoes, but I wouldn't say a lot cheaper than at home. We did the VAT thing at the airport today. It will be refunded to our credit card, I hope. They told us it might take up to 2 months to get tax back. The other option was to take cash in US $ and that would have been less than having the euros credited on our credit cards.
Sept ~ There will be the annual arts fair going on in Rome during most of the month of Sept. If you get a chance to check it out, you may find some beautiful artwork to purchase.
Other than wine and food, and more wine and food, to be savored in memory forever.... But I treated myself to something I recommend highly. Go to the Madova glove store in Florence. Oltrarno--close to the Ponte Vecchio. Why? Gloves are light souvenirs to carry, I use them all winter and every time I put my hand in one I remember a week in Florence, but mostly because shopping there is such a fine experience. Shelves of gloves piled to the ceiling, a pleasantly woman listens to my request which I have memorized in Italian and now can't remember (smooth black leather, silk lining, to the wrist) but when I start to say the size she shakes her head, takes my hand, looks at it for a moment, then turns around, reaches up to a shelf almost without looking, then puts on the counter the perfect pair of gloves. She raises an eyebrow, "okay?" Oh, si, si, grazie. And then she asked me to hold out my hands and she put them on me. They fit like they were made for me. They've lasted 3 years and are almost as good as new. I think it came out to around 35 or 40 US$s.
Trish
Posts: 603 | Location: Port Allen, LA, USA | Registered: 10 August 2003
Trish, I, too, am a devoted fan of Madova gloves! I resisted buying them because it's rarely 'glove weather' where I live, but I finally succumbed ... And am so glad I did! I've found more glove-wearing opportunities than I ever expected.
My Madova gloves fit like a dream, and the butter soft leather wears incredibly well.
... I can resist anything but temptation ... ~ Oscar Wilde
Posts: 13712 | Location: The Beautiful San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 06 August 2001
Personally, I have found that the small items with insignificant cost are the ones I treasure the most and afford the most wonderful memories. I have bought leather jackets, fine jewelry, an entire set of ceremic dishes, beautiful and expensive Murano glass, etc. I enjoy all of these but---my olive wood cutting boards and kitchen utensils, spices, soaps, coffee maker, etc (the things I get to use everyday) are my most favorite--particularly the cutting boards. Of the expensive items, the dishes are the best because I use them and enjoy them everyday. So---I guess what you buy will be determined by why you buy. I buy in order to savor the magic of Italy while I am here in my reality sphere--not where I prefer to be!
Trish and Colleen - ditto on the Madova gloves. I forgot my gloves in my room one chilly November day, so Rain and I stumbled into that store - she knew my size right of the bat and had exactly what I wanted. She helped Rain find a pair of gloves too though Rain was much less decisive and tried on 6 or 7 pairs (while the store filled) but she never rushed us.
On the small souvenier topic - I love the sunglasses I bought in Rome. Every day I wear them, I'm reminded of our trip.
It would be wise to bring table measurements or window lengths with you (for curtains) It is hard to pass up all those exquisite lace and linen table clothes in Venice and Tuscany! I had to call home to get the measurements for my mothers dining room table because I fell in love with a beautiful tablecloth that I needed to buy. Not exactly cheap but the quality make sure they are hand made, is worth it!
Yes on the Madova gloves. The ones I decided on are a subdued fuschia, with pale pink piped edging, pale pink leather covered buttons, and detailing that looks like darts. I should have got two pair: one to wear, and one to look at because they're so pretty. Farther down the same street along the Arno is Busatti (sp?), which has beautiful linen, by the metre or made up into totes, toiletry bags, pillows,etc.
Posts: 51 | Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA | Registered: 26 August 2003
Saffron's a plant product: almost certainly tabu. I find very good quality saffron at my neighborhood Hispanic market at less than a third the price of supermarket brandname. (And lower-grade saffron, usable for fish soups and even paella where there are a lot of other strong flavors, at even less.)
Silk ties at 7,50 euro in Venice, silk scarves...some of excellent quality and I priced a designer purse I saw in a shop in Rome & at Neiman Marcus in U.S....savings for this year's style of $85.U.S. plus the VAT back.
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