Shopping in Rome

Just a couple of doors from the Trevi Fountain in Rome, Emmy tried to buy a large framed painting. The price started at 40,000L, Emmy got her offer up to 25,000L, but the best the storekeeper would do was 35,000L (about $20). The Romans at the sidewalk cafe insisted that was too many Lire for that picture, so no sale. Since it was already in a 3- by 4-foot frame, it was too big to carry in the RV, and we had no idea how to get it home anyway.

On Via Della Vite, we shopped in one of Rome’s outdoor street markets, where food, “fleas,” clothing, and artwork were for sale. For $16 the artist Ernesto Lupino sold us an excellent “oil on copper” painting in a nice dry-brushed gold frame. He signed his name on the back, wrote the name of the city and the street "Roma, via Della Vite,” and dated it “23-6-1980.” The picture is of a moon-lit lake with four fishing boats, two on a sandy beach, the other two in the water. The beach and part of the boats are copper-colored, and the artist said that was the copper "canvas" showing through. Beautiful!

Further along, another man had a push-cart filled with brass and copper objects. We bought three intriguing 20-inch-high brass oil lamps that had been used in church ceremonies of some kind. We found the same lamps in other places in Italy, and in one place in Germany, with a price at least twice what we paid that street vendor in Rome.

We next drove near the left bank of the Tiber River, made an illegal U-turn across a divider in the street, and found a shady parking place near Ponte Cavour — a bridge over the Tiber River. We walked a couple of blocks to the shopping area, but before we had gone very far Emmy disappeared into a dress shop. She soon returned with a two-piece cool, cotton outfit. Must have cost all of $16.

One year at the Silos Supermarket (located on Via Aurelia, across the street from Camping Roma), we bought excellent Porterhouse steaks, the best we had in Europe that year. Another year Emmy drew a picture of what she wanted and showed it to the butcher at the Silos Market. He carefully cut what looked like a small prime rib, and it was delicious. On yet a different year (we've been to Rome 4 times) the Silos Supermarket was celebrating Coca Cola day. If we bought two small cases of Coke, they would give us a set of six glasses and a pitcher, all decorated with the Coke name and colors — the Coke name is the same in Italy as in the USA. Postage to mail them to the USA cost more than the Coke, but the glasses are still in use.

Near the Spanish Steps we found a store that sold cheddar cheese, peanut butter, and other goodies not usually found in Italian grocery stores. A lady from Boston who spoke Italian tried to help when she heard me order one and a half kilos of cheese. A usual order might be 150 milligrams, and she thought we were going to be surprised with 3 pounds of cheese. That was a lot of cheese, but we had no idea what kind of cheese we would find in Yugoslavia, the next country we were planning to visit.

One day Emmy needed a shampoo and set, and luckily we found a hairdresser who would keep her off the streets and out of the stores for an hour or so, for only $12. The hairdresser visit was a real bargain, saved us a lot of money.