Saturday, November 1, 2008

A trip to Voltri

Coming from Arenzano, Voltri is the first official train stop in Genoa. It’s much more happening than Arenzano, boasting a vibrant, broad main drag complete with a supermarket that’s open late and on Sundays. However, it’s most notable to Trofie Wife as the place where the Vodafone store clerks speak English and thus can easily reload our Internet and cell phones.


After a failed attempt to recharge the Internet key on our first Monday in town (due to a misplaced recharge number), Trofie Wife was forced to return on Tuesday. This turn of events was quite fortuitous as Tuesday turns out to be market day. The market is filled with an abundance of items from housewares (I found 12 hangers for just over 4 euro, which completed our closet) to clothing to farm fresh eggs (with the cooped chickens on display to prove it). The market also appears to be a good place to observe political activity. There were actual real live members of the Communist Party tabling next to a farmer’s cart, and proponents (or maybe they were opponents?) of some ballot referendum had taken up the seating area at the top of the piazza. It is also perfectly acceptable, I was glad to see, to bring your dog (no matter how large; I wish I had taken pictures!) to the market, just as long as the cane does not eat the flowers. Notably, on sale at a nearby newsstand I saw a calendar entitled, “Mussolini, Il Duce.” While I was curious to see the kind of spin it would take, I just couldn’t justify buying it, possessing it, and ultimately recycling it.


In Voltri, and likely all over Italy, the water companies have prominent plaques on the sidewalk that mark their territory. This one, “Acqua Nicolay” especially caught my eye, due to a certain friend back home, the tee-shirt goddess, who boasts the very same last name!




After Vodafone and the market, I returned to the abovementioned supermarket where I was lucky enough to score a super-cheap toaster, which was absolutely necessary due to the nonworking range and oven. I was certainly glad that I had not leaped on the 39 euro toaster at the electronics store when this one was less than 1/3 the price! Ah, bargain shopping!

Coming soon: Halloween and All Saints Day; A Sojourn to Savona


Baci e gelato,
Martello e Trofie Wife

2 comments:

hillel hammerman said...

according to the blog and your email, this should be the first comment you receive- I never understood the "word verification" box below this comment but if you get this, I guess it doesn't matter

hillel hammerman said...

curiously, the reply I sent at 5:38 is printed on the comment response as 2:37. Obviously not one of the big problems in life.