Shortly before we returned to Florida, we made one more trip to the street market in Ventimiglia, Italy. On this trip we asked our neighbors (who live in The Netherlands) to join us as they had not been there for market day. The hour's drive from our home to Ventimiglia was delightful: the sky was clear and a hint of snow ( yes snow) was upon the peaks of the Alps - this in contrast to viewing the warm blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea on our right! After passing the rush hour traffic in Nice, the highway climbed and climbed passing exits for Monaco and Menton (the last town in France) before crossing into Italy. Passing the Welcome to Italy sign, we are off the autoroute and on our way down into the town of Ventimiglia. Parking today didn't seem too bad, we were able to get a spot (cost = 5 euros) and still have a 10 minute walk to the market. Well worth it! The street market is over a 1 mile long and sometimes runs two streets deep. The vendors are selling Italian leather handbags, jackets, belts and gloves. There are also gorgeous scarves made of cashmere, pashmina or blends in wide array of colors and hues. Household goods: pots and pans, tablecloths and curtains, bedding and towels are displayed with hand written prices on cardboard. Others are selling cheeses, salamis, olives and breads. It's endless! I have always regretted not bringing an old fashioned shopping cart...because the walk back to the car with all our goods is way too much, and way too heavy. Prices are so reasonable you just can't pass the bargains up. If you are a shopper this place could be heaven or it could be hell 'cause you're going to buy and buy and buy! And we've not even crossed over to the covered food market which operates every day and the produce selection is incredible. There are stalls selling fresh made pastas, local cheeses and "take away" foods....mama mia!
Toting all our bags, we drag ourselves across the "bridge" to the other side of the town for lunch. The short walk across that bridge seems miles away from the beehive of street market activity. It is calm, welcoming and always peaceful. The food is delicious and the prices are so very very affordable!
We left, as usual, with one too many bags that weigh much too much and vowing to bring that old-fashioned shopping cart next time.
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