Shoe
shopping
I thought I might like a new pair of shoes for the Christening of Felice's nephew on Easter Sunday but initially just wanted to have a look to get an idea about style and price. On a bright Sunday morning Felice and I were wandering around Trani and found a shoe shop open (unusual to find any shop open on a Sunday morning other than a coffee bar!). We went inside and at once got accosted by the sales assistant, a middle aged woman who was doing her best to get me to buy a pair of shoes. I only wanted to have a look but before I knew I was being led to a chair and was surrounded by several boxes of shoes! Unfortunately the assistant didn't seem to grasp that my wide English feet tend to get crushed in a pair of pointy Italian shoes! I therefore walked away, on this occasion, without doing any damage to my purse strings!
As we left the shop we saw Gianni, a friend of Felice's who asked where we had been. As soon as Felice mentioned we were looking for a pair of shoes for me, Gianni came up with many suggestions on where I could find a cheap pair and perhaps I should ask their mutual friend Carlo who works in a shoe factory. It highlights something I have noticed about Italians, mention something you are thinking of buying and before you know it, they've got the shop, price and make sorted out for you before you have time to think!