SANTORINI SHOP 
I CAN'T BELIEVE I SHOPPED A WHOLE GREEK ISLAND! 
VENICE - SHOP WINDOW BY NIGHT
SOPHIE'S SHOPPING CART 
MY NANA SAYS, "YOU'RE NEVER TOO YOUNG TO SHOP."SHOPPING IN EUROPE
Hey all you shoppers! I’m not one myself, but being married to one qualifies me as something of a connoisseur. Here’s a few tips from our recent European splurge.
Rule #1 – Forget the price. You’re going to spend more than you ever thought. Don’t worry be happy.
Dubrovnik, Croatia
On a nice, sunny day Dubrovnik is paradise for shoppers’ husbands. Perhaps because outdoor cafes, ocean views, and other diversions entice away all but the most determined shoppers. Whatever!
Dubrovnik manages to strike the right balance for both buyers and sellers. The merchants are friendly and definitely not ‘hard sell’. Bargaining is allowed but not mandatory. Saying a few words in Croatian creates a genuine bridge of good feeling.
Best buys – lavendar and Italian leather goods. The former grows wild on the Dalmatian Coast while the latter is about 1/3 less than you would pay in Venice. Embroidered linens are reasonable also.
Kusadasi, Turkey
The sons of Artemis are indeed hard bargainers. Rena digs her heels in when faced with the hard sell, so I really didn’t have much to fear. Nevertheless you must play the game. For those who hate to negotiate a lower price – Turkey is not for you!
The Turks really enjoy it. They have a great sense of fun and appreciate a good joke as much as a successful negotiation. Even if no deal is struck – there are no hard feelings. Bargaining is a mental gymnastic like arm-wrestling. It’s definitely my kind of shopping:
“How about a nice leather jacket for the mister?” Romeo asks Rena.
(He is trying to enlarge the deal while he and Rena haggle over a pocketbook.)
“No thanks, I’m a vegetarian,” I chip in.
Big laugh all around.
If you’re not a vegetarian and enjoy bargaining, do buy a leather jacket. You’ll get a good deal. I think carpets are for experts only. Have fun trying on weird outfits. Enjoy baklava and coffee. Laugh a lot.
Santorini, Greece
Shopper’s paradise. Bring lots of euros and spend all of them. We happened to hit the island at the beginning of October when tourists are waning and prices are dropping. We found some good bargains.
Unique items include jewelry made from the lava that buried Atlantis. Gold jewelry in Byzantine style is also great.
Santorini is where shopper Rena finally met her limit. She shopped till she couldn’t walk another step. (see photo). We were waiting for the bus back from Oia to Fira. Even a donkey ride would have looked good by then!
Corfu, Greece
Do something else. It’s hard to get enthusiastic about kumquat liqueur.
Venice, Italy
To experience the sheer beauty and poetry of shopping (if there really is such a thing) shop Venice by night. I may be wrong, but I think the brilliantly lighted shop windows of the Rialto may be among the wonders of the modern world.
Imagine yourself in Venice 9:30 PM.-- Piazzas by moonlight, the footfalls and laughter of passersby, the smell of canals and the sea, the sound of classical violins from strolling troubadours. No streetlights, no motors, no horns. Moonlit waters lap the pier where your gondola awaits.
Suddenly a lighted window ahead! A shop displays its bounty of baroque party masks.
Imagination transports you to the 18th century. You’re in a world made for lovers, footpads and thieves. Lighted palazzos, costume balls and Casanova. One would have to be without a romantic bone in one’s body not to be affected by shopping in Venice at night.
Rena and I give it 10 stars as one of the best shopping experiences ever. And we spent absolutely nothing. How marvelous!
Hey all you shoppers! I’m not one myself, but being married to one qualifies me as something of a connoisseur. Here’s a few tips from our recent European splurge.
Rule #1 – Forget the price. You’re going to spend more than you ever thought. Don’t worry be happy.
Dubrovnik, Croatia
On a nice, sunny day Dubrovnik is paradise for shoppers’ husbands. Perhaps because outdoor cafes, ocean views, and other diversions entice away all but the most determined shoppers. Whatever!
Dubrovnik manages to strike the right balance for both buyers and sellers. The merchants are friendly and definitely not ‘hard sell’. Bargaining is allowed but not mandatory. Saying a few words in Croatian creates a genuine bridge of good feeling.
Best buys – lavendar and Italian leather goods. The former grows wild on the Dalmatian Coast while the latter is about 1/3 less than you would pay in Venice. Embroidered linens are reasonable also.
Kusadasi, Turkey
The sons of Artemis are indeed hard bargainers. Rena digs her heels in when faced with the hard sell, so I really didn’t have much to fear. Nevertheless you must play the game. For those who hate to negotiate a lower price – Turkey is not for you!
The Turks really enjoy it. They have a great sense of fun and appreciate a good joke as much as a successful negotiation. Even if no deal is struck – there are no hard feelings. Bargaining is a mental gymnastic like arm-wrestling. It’s definitely my kind of shopping:
“How about a nice leather jacket for the mister?” Romeo asks Rena.
(He is trying to enlarge the deal while he and Rena haggle over a pocketbook.)
“No thanks, I’m a vegetarian,” I chip in.
Big laugh all around.
If you’re not a vegetarian and enjoy bargaining, do buy a leather jacket. You’ll get a good deal. I think carpets are for experts only. Have fun trying on weird outfits. Enjoy baklava and coffee. Laugh a lot.
Santorini, Greece
Shopper’s paradise. Bring lots of euros and spend all of them. We happened to hit the island at the beginning of October when tourists are waning and prices are dropping. We found some good bargains.
Unique items include jewelry made from the lava that buried Atlantis. Gold jewelry in Byzantine style is also great.
Santorini is where shopper Rena finally met her limit. She shopped till she couldn’t walk another step. (see photo). We were waiting for the bus back from Oia to Fira. Even a donkey ride would have looked good by then!
Corfu, Greece
Do something else. It’s hard to get enthusiastic about kumquat liqueur.
Venice, Italy
To experience the sheer beauty and poetry of shopping (if there really is such a thing) shop Venice by night. I may be wrong, but I think the brilliantly lighted shop windows of the Rialto may be among the wonders of the modern world.
Imagine yourself in Venice 9:30 PM.-- Piazzas by moonlight, the footfalls and laughter of passersby, the smell of canals and the sea, the sound of classical violins from strolling troubadours. No streetlights, no motors, no horns. Moonlit waters lap the pier where your gondola awaits.
Suddenly a lighted window ahead! A shop displays its bounty of baroque party masks.
Imagination transports you to the 18th century. You’re in a world made for lovers, footpads and thieves. Lighted palazzos, costume balls and Casanova. One would have to be without a romantic bone in one’s body not to be affected by shopping in Venice at night.
Rena and I give it 10 stars as one of the best shopping experiences ever. And we spent absolutely nothing. How marvelous!
Daktari
