Zoe and I have been in Firenze now for almost 3 weeks.  I have been busy doing all those

important things you need to do when you move to a new place, Italian phone #, bank account and filing for

my residency.  Settling into my apartment has been such fun.  I will share that

with you on a later post.  I love my apartment very much and could not be happier

with my choice.  The neighborhood we are in is also perfect.  It is on the quite side

of the river about 2 miles in and about ten minutes further than when we were here

before.  It is very local and no tourist in site.  It has its own little shopping area where

I have been getting acquainted with and meeting the merchants.  I am a firm believer in

buying local and I can get most everything I need from this array of stores.

Barbara, my favorite barista,picture above, works at a wonderful Pasticceria that takes

you from espresso to prosecco, since they open at 6:00 am and close at 8:00.  Saturday

and Sunday till 2:00.  These hours are unusual, all the other stores close at 1:00 and

open again at 5:00 until 7:30.

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Next door is the fruit and vegetable store.  Great selection and run by two nice brothers.The 

prices always amaze me in a good way.  In Italy you DO NOT touch the merchandise.  You point

and they put it in the bag.  It can go a little slow if there are several people in the store,

but I am not in a hurry.  I think it is kind of charming plus it avoids bruising of the fruit.

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Next comes the place you buy things like paper towels, cleaning products, shampoo etc. 

Everything you need that is not food.  

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There is a very nice deli wine store that has the most yummy prepared foods.

If I didn’t like to cook I could take out here every night, but I have bought things

that I don’t want to cook like grilled octopus and the best roasted chicken ever.

A half of a chicken.  One of my favorite things about Italy is you buy exactly 

what you want. 2 eggs, or a quarter of a focaccia. This is so great for one

person, no waste and so often in the states you don’t something because you

to buy so much and you don’t to spend the money to end up throwing it away.

I stopped by the other day about 6:30 pm and had a class of prosecco 

and some french fries from the deli case.  Heaven!!

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Also a very nice drug store.

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There are a couple other little places to eat, a florist that is just opening and a butcher shop.

As you can see everything one might need a block away.  I love it.