7/15 12:20 am Rome/ 7/14 5:20 pm Houston
So today the sales (saldi) started in Rome. Since these sales happen all over Italy only twice a year - it's a big deal. Usually you will not find many sales in the stores, unless you happen to talk the sales person in the small boutiques to give you a discount (I haven't done that yet). So I've been waiting to buy anything since I've arrived at Rome since I found out these sales were going to take place.
I don't think I've ever prepared so much for a day of shopping either. I asked a couple of people that live here for suggestions on where to go & one girl from work even gave me some of the popular brands of clothes, shoes & purses. Last night I even highlighted the streets I wanted to go to on my map & made sure I had a whole plan on what I wanted to do!
Of course my plan was already off this morning because I overslept & got out of bed at the time I planned on being at the stores! :-o But when I finally got ready (around 10am) I headed to Via del Corso, which is the main street that has stores all down it. For those of you taking note on where to go, if you want shopping this street & the streets off of it are THE shopping streets in Rome. Most of the stores are very small compared to the US, with a few "department" stores that are a couple stories, and then they have a "Galleria" that has several stores & is 3 stores tall. (The Galleria Colonna is the picture above - again something you wouldn't see in Houston.) If you go on the streets between Via del Corso & the Spanish Steps, that's where most of the high fashion shops are such as Valentino, Gucci, Dior, Prada & all the other stores I will never be able to afford!
So I get to Via del Corso & tons of stores had "Saldi" on the windows & there were just people everywhere going from store to store. It wasn't too bad...just in some of the more popular stores you had to wait in line for the dressing rooms for a bit & then another long line to pay. When walking, I noticed that for some of the more high end stores they actually had lines outside the stores because they were only letting a certain number of people inside at a time so it didn't get too crowded. I also say a couple of people going down the street with those rolling clothes racks - I guess going to get clothes from storage.
I started at the beginning of Via del Corso & just made my way all the way down going from shop to shop & then down some of the side streets every now & then. I was a bit disappointed at first because for the 1st couple of hours I didn't find anything I liked (or could justify buying I should say). But after several hours of shopping I did end up buying several pairs of work pants, some shirts/blouses, a blazer, and a pair of jeans -- everything on sale & some even 50% off! So overall a pretty good shopping day! I didn't go overboard & most isn't anything that you can tell by looking it's "Italian", but I think it's things I will be able to get a lot of use out of. Plus I'm focusing on getting clothes for work, since that's what I need most (and don't have money to spend on tons of clothes).
One thing that I have to get use to is the fact that a shopping trip here will be different for me compared to back home. Other than walking a lot (I think I walked for at least 10 hours!), I also have to remember that whatever I buy I have to carry until I get home since I don't have a car to put it in after I buy it! So for me shopping is now a bit of a workout too! When I got home my legs hurt, my feet hurt, my hands hurt from holding on to the bags & overall my body is just tired! I actually can't remember the last time I was this tired from shopping! (maybe when I was in Milan in Nov.?)
One thing I managed to do today instead of just shopping was to make it to most of the main tourist monuments in Rome - Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, and the Spanish Steps. In most cases I went to those because I needed a place to sit & rest and I knew there was plenty of space at these. ;-) Although I've been to most at least a couple times since I've been here, I still enjoy going to them & it still hasn't really sunk in that I can go to them as much as I want! I'm sure eventually I'll get tired of them...maybe. But for now I will keep enjoying them & visiting them as much as I can.
I also decided walked to my soon-to-be apartment to see what the neighborhood is like & to see how far of a walk it was from Via del Corso (it's about 15 - 20 minutes from the end of Corso). I took some pictures of the outside I will post in another blog. I'm suppose to sign the contract & get the key on Monday, but that might get moved back to later in the week. :-( The reason for the potential delay is because transfers between bank accounts (even from 1 Italian bank to another) are really slow & in order for me to pay for everything to get my apartment I need the money that my company is suppose to deposit for me. We will try on Monday to see if my bank will cut a check if we prove that the wire from the other bank was made, but the agency isn't sure it will work. If they won't do that, I will just have to wait until the money comes thru before I can move. Just another thing that shows you have to have patience to live here. ;-) In this whole process, what I found out after I decided on the apartment that 1) the deposits required here are A LOT larger than back home & 2) in most cases you always have to pay your rent 3 months at a time...always in advance of course. So that means on the day I move in I have to pay all of that plus additional fees! That was an unexpected surprise just due to me not knowing how that all works here and not asking. Oh and on top of that, everyone only gets paid once a month vs. twice a month like in the US. I'm learning many things as I go along!
Well I better close this blog so I can get some sleep & get some more shopping in tomorrow. I'm still in search of shoes, a purse, & more work clothes! I'm not sure which stores will be open, but hopefully some will be open.
Ciao!
1:05am Rome/ 6:05pm Houston
No comments:
Post a Comment