My "So-Called" Shopping Morning

Today had so much potential. Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to it. I got up early this morning (yes early is relative - anything before 10am is early to me), ready to shop (no, I don't ever get tired of shopping...why do you think I'm looking forward to being a buyer?). I was up and dressed by 8:45, and I stopped in the kitchen for a hot sec to eat some cereal. I hit the market by 9 and had an epiphany. The market is a completely different experience if you get there in the morning! There was NO ONE there...well, ok, there were people but barely. You could walk through the aisles without having to push, and you could actually look at the merchandise without having someone's elbow all up in your side. It was amazing. For a second I wondered, why on earth have I never done this before? Then I remembered: because I sleep like a dude (so I'm told) and can never get out of the bed early enough. Oh well. I got through the market in a record 20 minutes - and that was including stops I made to make purchases (yeah, I got a couple of things). My most unbelieveable purchase was a belt for 1 euro. And no, it's not one of those "fall to pieces after one use" belts either. It's your typical black belt. Quite impressive. I was in search of a "throwaway" bag - one that I could use to transport all the things I've bought back home with me. I found one but the vendor wanted 20 euros for it. For a throwaway bag? I think not.
After leaving the market, I hopped on the tram to my first planned stop of the day: Ciovassino Fashion Discount Store. Or, at least that's what the guide books called it. After a 20 minute commute (rush hour traffic - it should have only taken 10), I get to the address, only to find that it is some place called "Edra" and it is not open to the public. No mention of Ciovassino to be found. Ok, so I didn't trip off that b/c I was behind schedule anyway (yes, I planned my visits by time so I could get everything done before Italian class). So then, I walk two blocks to catch the 61 bus, only to find that the ACTUAL route of the 61 bus, and the route highlighted on my map didn't quite match. So, there I was, waiting for the bus, and when it came, it went right down another street instead of turning and coming down the street where I was. Ok, so since it was early and I was in a good mood, I let that slide. I was only planning to take the bus a few stops anyway, so I decided I'd walk. Except there were all these twists and turns in the area where I was (on the other side of the Duomo). I eventually just made my way back to the Duomo and went from there. At least I would know where I was going.
I stopped back in the temporary store and made a couple of handbag purchases then headed to the second stop on my list: Te Con Le Amiche (translation: Tea with a friend?). So, when I get to that address, again, I see no signs of the store. I walk into the building and there are a number of company listings, none of which seem relevant at all. I walk to the sides of the building, and around the building....nothing. At this point, I'm getting frustrated b/c this seems to be a theme here...I'm thinking these stores just don't exist anymore, they've moved, or they're just really hard to find. I suck it up, reluctantly, and hop on the 61 bus (I found an actual stop this time) which took me out deep into the east side of Milan where I was looking for a store called "Vestistock" (this place was featured in virtually every shopping guide to Milan). After disorienting myself twice, I finally found my way to the right street, and arrived at the address....and again, nothing. It was a residential building and there was a closed gate leading to the backside of the building. So I walked around the block. Nothing. When I got back to the front, I stopped a lady who was cleaning the porch of a building next door, and asked her if she had heard of this store. She told me it was closed...a long time ago. I didn't get into the details of who, what, when, where, and why. I just thanked her and kept it moving. Such was my morning of shopping. Nothing was where it was supposed to be.
I hopped back on the 61 bus and decided on a whim to take it to the 29/30 tram which circles the city. I had passed a store on the way back from Etro the other day that looked like it could have been promising. And since I was 0-3 anyway, I figured it couldn't get much worse. I had miscalculated where the store was, and when I looked out the tram window, I saw the Puma Factory store. I knew I had gone too far, so I got off and decided to check out Puma. It was ok. They had some neat designs, especially for men, but their female merchandise was just alright. Half of the items weren't even labeled with prices which was also somewhat annoying. I didn't buy anything from Puma and I was still annoyed that it had been such a wasteful morning. So I got back on the 29/30 tram in the opposite direction and finally found the store I had been looking for. For a second I thought it was closed b/c I couldn't find the door (it was tiny and hidden), but then I saw people inside. This was around noon, so I only had an hour to shop before they closed for lunch. I went inside and there were a couple of young girls talking around the cash register. I started looking around and got to a table with handbags. It had a sign that said 19 euros. I picked up a light brown, suede Miss Sixty fringed handbag that was way too cute to cost 19 euros (it was originally priced at 198 euros) and decided to ask what the real price was. As I was walking to the register, the saleswoman saw me coming and said "tutto dicciannove" (they're all 19 euros). I just looked at her in disbelief. This officially made my entire morning worth it. As I kept looking around, I stayed in a state of disbelief. Their prices were just unbelieveable. Apparently they're a "stock" house that gets overstocks from American and Italian designers. But even for a stock house, their prices were incredible. Unfortunately, with the exception of Miss Sixty, I wasn't too successful with the Italian brands. Everything I tried on didn't fit. I found a pair of Miss Sixty jeans that were way too unique and cute for me not to try on (I know I said I was on a jeans diet, but at times like this, you make an exception). And you know what? By the grace of God, they fit!!! I snatched them up in a heartbeat. I won't even tell y'all how much they cost. You wouldn't believe me anyway.
I finally left the store, much more upbeat and energized than when I had entered. This one little store that I went to on a whim, ended up making my entire morning worthwhile. On the tram ride back to the apartment I had started to feel really hungry so when I got back I devoured a couple of sandwiches, some pasta salad, and half of a piece of watermelon. Rita and I went to our 2:30 Italian class with Susanna and I had started to feel my head hurting when we were almost there. I think I had waited too long to eat - that bowl of cereal just wasn't cutting it. Class itself was good - we did a couple of verb exercises and a geography lesson on Italy. Then I had to outline my (immediate) family tree with Rita asking me questions. Susanna was shocked when I explained my family...she said my family is "molto giovanissimo!" (very young). Yep. She asked when I was going to have kids since I'm the only one of my siblings (my 10 yr old sister excluded) without children. Y'all know my take on that one. I told her "quando sono sposata" (when I'm married). She just raised her eyebrows and said "oh!" Lol. She had her son when she was 20 years old, so to her I'm a late bloomer. Tomorrow we're picking up with Rita's family (we have class 3 days this week since it's my last week). We also have to come prepared to talk about where we are from. So I have to find a map of NYC and talk about the boroughs and that kind of thing. Should be fun.
After I left class, my head started pounding into full migraine mode. I was holding my head the entire walk to the tram b/c it hurt so bad. When I got back to the apartment, I took two Aleves, went in my room, and passed out. I woke up not long ago, about to take another Aleve and go back to sleep then it occurred to me that I'm supposed to have research done by tomorrow's meeting. I have the sources (I think) - I just need to consolidate them. I'm so not excited about tomorrow's meeting (we're meeting at 10am which means it won't get started until 11, and we'll be there all day b/c......well, that's just the kind of team I'm working with). So off I go to do research. My head is a little better (I guess I can downgrade to "headache" status) but still hurting so I'm going to try to be quick and efficient. Later y'all.