We went shopping in the big city, Nafplio, an hour away, even though rain was forecast.
Nafplio is one of the most picturesque cities near us. A modern city with a colourful old town, narrow alleyways ending in squares full of cafe tables with museums, craft shops, traditional tavernas. A castle reached by climbing 1,000 steps, or driving your car up to the gate. More ancient ruins than you can shake a stick at and overflowing with Greek visitors .
The last weekend before Xmas is not the time to go shopping anywhere.
It started raining as we entered town so decided not to go to the big farmers market. That was probably a bad decision. We went elsewhere and spent twice as much. Not because it was so expensive but because there was too much choice on the shelves.
The first supermarket we went to was empty. Because it was still very early in the morning. That was Lidls, the slightly cheaper German chain. They had a tempting array of chocolates and cheap alcohol.
The second supermarket was crowded. A huge parking area that was full. Long lines for all the cashiers.
I'm too old for this sort of shopping. Their cheese counter seemed 100 metres long and the queue even longer.
No cheese for us. It's all so damn expensive too.
Long aisles, endless shelves. Everything from cheese to a new jacket or a sack of wood chips.
I'll go down to our local grocer, get a bit of Danish blue, exchange a bit of banter with the grocer's wife and go home without feeling overwhelmed.
The traffic was tail to tail when we got out of the 2nd supermarket. Nerves were taut. Not a day for relaxing shopping therapy.
We crawled along and stopped on the edge of town for a souvlaki and tzatziki lunch. Most enjoyable. Their meat was tender. The tzatziki made in the shop. The fried potatoes obviously not pre-fried or frozen. But even that was more expensive. From 20 euros to 30 euros for the 2 of us.
The rain stopped and we had a dry road home.
I really am getting old. I'll be quite happy not to do that again for a few months.
Pohutukawa The NZ Christmas tree
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Maybe local shopping is best...went to Chinese shop today for my therapy....😍
ReplyDeleteThe Chinese shop would have been plenty of excitement for me!!
DeleteIt's probably an age thing, I also prefer small local stores to a large supermarket.
ReplyDeleteI loved Nafplio when we visited but can imagine pre-Christmas is possibly not a good time to go.
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons I tend to finish Christmas shopping in November. I don’t do crowds at all.
ReplyDeleteIf I do need to go into town I do it very early so I’m there as the shops open a quick in and out and I’m home before the anxiety ramps up
I am with you on crowds. That's why we went early to the Market. Granddaughter asked if I would pick up two cooked chicken for her from the supermarket on Christmas Eve. I declined as I know I could not cope with the crowds or the worry that there were none available. I will be contributing a tray of roast mixed vegetables on Christmas Day.
ReplyDelete