Our morning schedule was shopping. Yes, first things first— shopping.
Before we got off the bus, the guide was making some announcements. Nalaglag IQ ko.
Guide—-“We are going to give you water it’s up to you what you want to do. If you just drink or take it out.
A— “Ano daw?”
Guide—– We’re going to McDonald’s. Every body is getting an appointment in McDonald’s. We are going to set our appointment.
Me —“What? kakain na naman tayo? Busog pa ako. Ka be-breakfast lang natin. Sa McDo? Bakit may appointment pa?”
E—-“Dun daw ang meeting place sa McDo.”
The area was swarming with tourists.
The bus drove by the luxury brands like Hermes, Salvatore Ferragamo, and other expensive shops. But lumampas kami.
The tour guide brought us to what she called flea market or plaka. When she asked us who would like to go to the flea market, lahat kami sumama. Someone said kunwari pa magsa-shopping sa mamahalin yun pala pang flea market lang. Sabi namin warm-up muna. Oh I LOVE flea markets in Europe. I find cute and unique items.
I was expecting tiangge type stalls but actually these are real stores. Hindi naman palengke.
Expensive jewelries, clothes, watches, souvenir shops.
I saw a nice necklace on the display window. I walked-in to ask how much, usyoso lang. I told the lady not to get it anymore I just wanted to know the price. How much? Parang bumili ng Ford EcoSport.
Aba eh kinuha pa rin and she convinced me to try it on. Nice, She told us her son is married to a half-Filipino half Jordanian girl he met while working in Dubai. She also has a cousin who is married to a Filipina based in Germany. She and her husband dug-up their VAT refund receipts to look for the name of their regular customer. We said “no need, it’s okay.” Ayaw papigil, hinanap pa rin, binuklat ng binuklat yung mga resibo, nakita rin. Dra. Mildred Vitangcol, the beautiful president of St. Peter’s Life, funeral homes.
Gusto pang makipag-kwentuhan but we excused ourselves, They were very friendly. Syemore they were hoping that I would buy something from their store. As I exited her store, she whispered that she would talk to her husband to tive me a very good price. I just smiled.
Next shop naman, sa gilid nung iskinita, there’s a small Rolex store. While Edmund and I stopped to look at the display window, we saw Willy Tee Ten inside the store, with Owie, and a guy named Tey Sornet.
E—-“Gusto mong pumasok?”
A—-“sige.”
A golf friend of Edmund said that watches are cheaper in Greece because of the 24% tax refund. Willy compared the prices and sabi nya mas mura nga daw. Naki-tingin rin kami.
This is not my style. The items are limited.
This is what I like. No explanation necessary.
I bought a hat for Euro 12. I showed it to my husband before I paid. I involved him in my decision making kasi yung isang sombrero ko napagkainitan, ang pangit daw daw mukhang cheap. Ang ganda-ganda eh pipintsan. Kunsumisyon. He liked a different one, but i bought something else.
I want to buy an extra cotton blouse, ang init dito. I wasn’t able to anticipate that I would be needing two clothes in one day. The blouses look like my 10 other blouses. I wear similar stuff. I have something like that from Budapest.
The heat was draining my energy. I was feeling tired and needed refreshment. Edmund bought ice cream.
I got two glasses of freshly-squeezed lemonade. Ay ang asim, I went back to ask for more sugar. After eating ice cream, Edmund took a sip, lalo na mas maasim ang lasa.
I saw a white and blue table cloth hanging outside this store. I bought it for Euro 30 without any haggling. The lady owner said “you are my first buy, my store just opened now, hopefully you bring me more buys.” Bwena mano daw ako. I saw bales of items for shipping to Australia, Japan, and America. She ships around the world.
I spotted this carpet hanging on the store’s inner wall. It’s nice. We have no rug in the great room, maybe I can put a small one under the coffee table. This would look good in our sala.
A—-“How much is that?”
Store owner—–‘€5’000. That’s original antique, handmade from Iran.”
Nay ko, actually 12 years yung sala namin wala namang carpet. Hindi ko na lang lalagyan, Stella would just pee on it.
Grabe tindi ng araw dito. It’s not fun to walk around.
I went inside Massimo Dutti but the items are all for winter. It would be hard to condition my mind to buy winter clothes while feeling hot in Athens.
Inihaw na mais is my favorite ever since my Binangonan days and my husband is aware of that. Mas masarap yan kesa steamed or boiled corn.
E—-“Oh, gusto mo?”
A—-Mapupuno ng itim-itim ang ipin ko.”
This should be eaten before going home not when you’re outside and touring.
