The Motta market is just up the road from our house on Wednesdays, and today the weather and my schedule permitted me to go on a lovely walk. Not nearly as loud as the Catania market, some vendors were still setting up when I arrived around 9 a.m. I walked around looking for veggies, but I remain amazed that I can buy anything....cleaning supplies, make up, dishes, cookware, linens, clothes...in such a small parking lot!
I bought most of my veggies from one very nice little man (yes, little, as I tower over many of the men here)....fennel, tomatoes, bell peppers, and zucchini; then to a younger, taller vendor and equally nice, selling about the same things, but he sold beautiful mushrooms, too.
The market is across the street from the local cemetery which I had never visited. Anytime cemetery gates are open, people are visiting (with flowers bought at the market or just outside the gates) so I went on a quiet stroll through one part. I wonder if some of the remaining relatives live in such nice spaces. 
Enroute home, there was a man with a New York Yankees caps selling artichokes out of the back of his car next to a man selling fish out of the back of his. I asked for 'five' artichokes; he asked me to hold the plastic bag, and he cut off all the extra greenery and plopped them in there. At five, I said, "Cinque." He said, "No," gesturing to the back of his LAV heaped with artichokes. He continued filling the bag, then said, "Cinque." 20-30 of the freshest artichokes to share with neighbors for FIVE Euro!
In spite of carrying two full bags of fresh produce, I had to take a picture of the road leading home. 
No comments:
Post a Comment