SUNDAY SHOPPING, SIENA.
One of the things I love about Europe is the daily/weekly/monthly markets that happen in almost every city, no matter how small the place is.
During my stay, I've seen the Christmas markets in Brussels and Paris, as well as the weekly ones in Florence and Siena.
(This is one of the markets from Brussels that I remember really well - lots of high-quality handmade products and fun collections of both womenswear and menswear!)
Each one is unique, depending heavily on where it is taking place.
I've noticed that a lot of markets (for both food products and clothing/accessories) in Florence are tourist-y in comparison to ones I've seen in other cities.
Siena has a market every week, selling clothing, small furnitures, accessories and handbags.
I can always tell by the flow of people walking in the city center with plastic bags on days when the market is held.
Ever since I arrived here, I've always heard about this antique market that they have near Piazza del Campo. And apparently they happen "every third Sunday of the month."
But let's get real...who remembers that a Sunday is the third one of the month?
So basically eight months passed by, finding myself saying "Damn, yesterday was the third Sunday!"
And finally May arrives and I decided to write "MERCATO" in my schedule book, to remind myself that if I don't go this time, I most likely will never do.
And it worked and there I was on a rainy Sunday morning, strolling on a backstreet behind the Piazza.
Since there was basically no one (a pretty typical situation in Siena), it was a bit awkward walking around staring at the little tables that were set by shop owners...but it was great being able to take a good look at the type of things they sold!
Children's toys, books, and games...
Used furniture...love that wooden nightstand/table.
Rows and rows of used handbags, hats, and shoes...
I came extremely close to buying some jewelry, but resisted...!
Paintings and drawings, casually standing on the ground...!
I was amazed at the collection of really old postcards, letters (even personal ones!), books, and tourist guides, mainly on the province of Siena and its cities. It was a hard choice, but after going back and forth different booths, I chose to buy this...
It's a series of 6 postcards put together, with drawings of scenes from Little Red Riding Hood (in Italian called "Cappuccetto Rosso"). The drawings are adorable and loved the colors that were used...really warm and perfect for the story. On the back of each postcard, there's a little explanation of the scene in Italian...a great language exercise for me!
P.S. One more week in Siena and two more weeks in Italy....unbelievable! Now starting to think of what to do with this tumblr account once I arrive in Tokyo...:)
