Venice Shopping

This past Saturday my two roommates and I had taken a day trip up to Venice. Venice is a beautiful city and I would recommend taking a trip up there if you have a chance. While I was in Venice I had bought some souvenirs for my friends at home. I had bought mask key chains from on outdoor vendor on the side of a street. I had gotten 6 key chains for 12 euro. I did bargain with them a little. However, the stores in Venice are a little pricier and there is no bargaining going on inside of them. The shops are small and offer very nice items but the prices of an item are higher than one would be in Rome.

Many of the shops located around Venice are filled with glass objects, masks, jewelry, and souvenir products. Along the Grand Canal running around Venice is lined with vendors who are selling much of the same products the small shops are selling. So if you get a chance to go to Venice and want to buy a couple items, take a look around at the vendors and the small shops to get the best price!

Zara

Rome is loaded with many places and streets to shop on! All up and down Via del Corso are clothing, handbags, souvenir, shoe, bathing suit, etc. shops. One of the major shops along Via del Corso is Zara. Zara is a large store that offers women and men clothing and shoes. Zara is located in two locations on Via del Corso. Both stores are located on the right hand side if you back is to Il Vittoriano.

The prices vary depending on what you get. So far I have only bought a belt for 20 euro and a tunic for about 40 euro. Zara holds various sorts of shoes from high heels, gladiator sandals, and closed toe flat shoes. They range in various prices. Most of the sandals I had looked at cost about 40 euro. Zara's clothing is trendy with the most recent styles I have seen on the streets of Rome. If you ever get a chance to stop into Zara I recommend it. The prices can get a little steep but if you look around the entire store you will find some more reasonable prices that may fit in your price range!

Boys Town

Boys town is an orphanage and was founded in 1951 which hosts a home for boys who have no families to return to or to support them. Boys town is a town of boys who has a president and adults around to keep an eye and help them. On Friday, our class as well as another class visited Boys Town. We had met a boy who was 9 years old, who had been there for about one month. The ages of the boys range from about 9 years to 21 years of age. The boys get schooling while they stay in Boys Town. We had also met the mayor of Boys Town, which change every two months. He was 17 years of age and had been in Boys Town for two years.

The town was very nice filled with buildings, a church, kitchen, trees, and art that the boys have done recently and in previous years. Boys Town is a wonderful place where boys who have little or no support from their parents and/or family can earn an education, gain leadership roles, grow up and live and meet others who are in similar situations as they are in. The boys we had met seemed extremely happy to be able to have the opportunity to live in Boys Town and begin the process to one day be on their own.

*For more information on Boys and Girls Town please visit the following site:

www.boystownofitaly.org

Coin

While I was in Florence I went to a department store called Coin. The department store was fabulous and held four floors of various items. On the entry level floor was cosmetics, jewelry, and menswear. On the ground level, below the entry level they stored all of their home furnishing items. On the third floor was women and the fourth level consisted of children clothing. The prices vary depending on the brand and item. I had bought a four strand beaded necklace for 13 euro which was a good price. The item was made well and was worth it. Other necklaces ranged from 10 euro to about 30 euro. Coin is located around Italy is some of the major tourist cities such as Rome, Venice and Florence. If you ever get a chance while staying in one of these cities, stop in and take a look. You can get some nice deals depending on the items for a nice price.

Al Biscione Cafe

If you are looking for a nice fresh squeezed refreshment while around Campo de' Fiori Al Biscione Cafe offers a delicious fresh squeezed orange juice. The Cafe is right across from Hotel Campo de' Fiori located on Via del Biscione. After you browse around the open-air market in the piazza head over to Al Biscione Cafe to cool off. Once you enter the cafe shop you order your fresh squeezed orange juice and then proceed to drink it at the bar where you were served. The cost is 2, 50 euro.

Florence markets

Last weekend a group of us headed on up to Florence for a nice weekend travel. On our way to our hostel from the train we ran into a huge open-air market. This open-air market was filled with handbags, scarves, paper products, jewelry and clothing. We wanted to drop off our suitcases at our hostel and go back to the market when we had learned by asking one vendor, that they had been opened every single day from 9 am to 7 pm unless rain would come there way.

Just like many other open- air markets that are held around Rome, you can bargain down the price of an item. I had been offered a leather bag for 76 euros that was originally 95 euros. It is a nice option when you are shopping on a budget but you may need to be prepared to walk away if the bargaining does not work in your favor. I had bought scarves for three euro a piece. If you are looking for cheap scarves and you get the chance to go to Florence I suggest buying these items there. They are great prices and the same scarves are as much as 9 euro in Rome.