The Shopping tour To Italy: Major Credit Card Damage!
About 15 years ago AlteCocker took--horror of horrors--a bus tour of Italy. She had not been to Italy except for once when she was young and green in the Late Middle Ages. When a reasonably priced tour presented itself, she decided to go--even if it meant joining a group of high school students, including DaughterCocker on the tour with a teacher.
AlteCocker was scrupulous about allowing DaughterCocker to do her own thing. There were about 9 students from the local high school on the tour, most of whom were a great deal more interested in checking out the opposite sex at various discos than in checking out the ancient ruins and art museums. So be it.
But, AlteCocker is not going to write about the ancient ruins or art galleries. What this tour was notable for was the amount of merchandise that found its way onto YentaKvetch’s credit cards. In fact, AlteCocker spent more money buying things than the tour cost. Suffice it to say that it took a bit of doing to get those credit cards paid off after the damage was done.
Generally, Europe is not a place to go to look for bargains. Europeans have much better health care systems than Americans do. The way they pay for them is through a tax called the Value Added Tax or V.A.T., which is added on to every purchase. Unlike American sales tax, the V.A.T. is added into the price of the item so it is easy to forget you're being socked with tax. The governments are not stupid. The less people know, the less they kvetch.
What this means is that things are generally more expensive in Europe. In Italy, that is not always the case. There are real bargains--and AlteCocker bought almost every one of them. Once her wallet got open, she never could get it slammed shut.
AlteCocker survived Rome without any expensive purchases, as the tour group was kept busy queuing for the Sistine Chapel and seeing Pope John Paul II at Palm Sunday mass in St. Peter's Square. Once the tour left Rome, credit card disaster began to set in.
The first shopping disaster occurred in the town of Torre del Greco in between Naples and Sorrento. The town is widely known for the Cameo Factory and not much else. AlteCocker has a lovely cameo that was her great grandmother's. A stop in Torre del Greco resulted in a pair of matching cameo earrings and a small necklace with a cameo carving of flowers that ended up being given away as a gift.
In Sorrento, there is this huge shop in the downtown area that sells just about every sort of handicraft available. AlteCocker walked out of the store with 3 ceramic bowls in deep royal blue with the most gorgeous lemon motifs. They weighed a ton. That was not all. There was an inlaid wood music box and a few assorted cheaper tschotschokes.
Without the kind assistance of the tour guide AlteCocker would have never made it back to the hotel room. Of course, the kind guide was collecting a hefty commission from AlteCocker's credit card purchases in each location.
AlteCocker did pass on the lace tablecloths. You gotta give her some credit.
An assortment of what was have been euphemistically called “hussy” pigs was picked up from a street vendor. These little pig figurines were in various positions involved in, shall we say, making bacon. AlteCocker purchased some of the tamer ones, but wished she had bought some of the more explicit ones after she got home. They're a hoot--and at least they were not expensive.
Well, after the shopping festivities in Torre del Greco and Sorrento, AlteCocker and DaughterCocker went to Capri. After heaving herself in and out of assorted boats to get into the Blue Grotto for about 10 seconds, DaughterCocker, who was just getting into the swing of things, just had to have an Italian bathing suit.
This was getting serious.
The bus headed for Florence. The kids, who had spent the previous night partying at the disco, slept the day away in the bus and missed all the scenery. By the time the tour arrived in Florence--in between the Uffizi and the David--DaughterCocker purchased a leather jacket and AlteCocker bought some gold earrings.
Venice, the last stop on the Italian shopping trip resulted in a glass vase and some of those necklaces with the glass beads.
By this time, AlteCocker, who could not remember what she had seen--or not seen--on the tour was ready to go home. Besides, her suitcase was full and her credit cards were on overdrive.
As for the tour, the food was awful, AlteCocker did not like the rushing about, but it did have the advantage in allowing her to leave all her assorted purchases on the bus. Those ceramic bowls remained wrapped in bubble wrap under her seat ever since Sorrento. She could never have bought them if she had to do her own schlepping.
AlteCocker is happy to report that the ceramic bowls, and all the other purchases, made it home in one piece. The bowls, of course, were hand carried on the airplane. The rest of the stuff did very well with the usual packing material: dirty underwear.
A few years later, AlteCocker’s dining room was repapered. The paper was purchased specifically to go with the ceramic bowls. The humongous one was hong on the wall.
“Where did you ever get those gorgeous bowls?” says a visitor. “Sorrento,” says YentaKvetch smugly with just the right touch of disdain.
Several years later, however, the large bowl hanging on the wall was dropped and shattered. It was replaced on a subsequent trip to Italy (not the one where AlteCocker smashed up her arm).
I gotta tell ya: AlteCocker never did this again. Older and wiser, she now has a house full tschotschkes and has ceased buying almost anything on her trips. In fact, the surplus tschotschkes were sold on ebay years ago. AlteCocker learned her lesson--not to mention her credit cards learning theirs.
AlteCocker was scrupulous about allowing DaughterCocker to do her own thing. There were about 9 students from the local high school on the tour, most of whom were a great deal more interested in checking out the opposite sex at various discos than in checking out the ancient ruins and art museums. So be it.
But, AlteCocker is not going to write about the ancient ruins or art galleries. What this tour was notable for was the amount of merchandise that found its way onto YentaKvetch’s credit cards. In fact, AlteCocker spent more money buying things than the tour cost. Suffice it to say that it took a bit of doing to get those credit cards paid off after the damage was done.
Generally, Europe is not a place to go to look for bargains. Europeans have much better health care systems than Americans do. The way they pay for them is through a tax called the Value Added Tax or V.A.T., which is added on to every purchase. Unlike American sales tax, the V.A.T. is added into the price of the item so it is easy to forget you're being socked with tax. The governments are not stupid. The less people know, the less they kvetch.
What this means is that things are generally more expensive in Europe. In Italy, that is not always the case. There are real bargains--and AlteCocker bought almost every one of them. Once her wallet got open, she never could get it slammed shut.
AlteCocker survived Rome without any expensive purchases, as the tour group was kept busy queuing for the Sistine Chapel and seeing Pope John Paul II at Palm Sunday mass in St. Peter's Square. Once the tour left Rome, credit card disaster began to set in.
The first shopping disaster occurred in the town of Torre del Greco in between Naples and Sorrento. The town is widely known for the Cameo Factory and not much else. AlteCocker has a lovely cameo that was her great grandmother's. A stop in Torre del Greco resulted in a pair of matching cameo earrings and a small necklace with a cameo carving of flowers that ended up being given away as a gift.
In Sorrento, there is this huge shop in the downtown area that sells just about every sort of handicraft available. AlteCocker walked out of the store with 3 ceramic bowls in deep royal blue with the most gorgeous lemon motifs. They weighed a ton. That was not all. There was an inlaid wood music box and a few assorted cheaper tschotschokes.
Without the kind assistance of the tour guide AlteCocker would have never made it back to the hotel room. Of course, the kind guide was collecting a hefty commission from AlteCocker's credit card purchases in each location.
AlteCocker did pass on the lace tablecloths. You gotta give her some credit.
An assortment of what was have been euphemistically called “hussy” pigs was picked up from a street vendor. These little pig figurines were in various positions involved in, shall we say, making bacon. AlteCocker purchased some of the tamer ones, but wished she had bought some of the more explicit ones after she got home. They're a hoot--and at least they were not expensive.
Well, after the shopping festivities in Torre del Greco and Sorrento, AlteCocker and DaughterCocker went to Capri. After heaving herself in and out of assorted boats to get into the Blue Grotto for about 10 seconds, DaughterCocker, who was just getting into the swing of things, just had to have an Italian bathing suit.
This was getting serious.
The bus headed for Florence. The kids, who had spent the previous night partying at the disco, slept the day away in the bus and missed all the scenery. By the time the tour arrived in Florence--in between the Uffizi and the David--DaughterCocker purchased a leather jacket and AlteCocker bought some gold earrings.
Venice, the last stop on the Italian shopping trip resulted in a glass vase and some of those necklaces with the glass beads.
By this time, AlteCocker, who could not remember what she had seen--or not seen--on the tour was ready to go home. Besides, her suitcase was full and her credit cards were on overdrive.
As for the tour, the food was awful, AlteCocker did not like the rushing about, but it did have the advantage in allowing her to leave all her assorted purchases on the bus. Those ceramic bowls remained wrapped in bubble wrap under her seat ever since Sorrento. She could never have bought them if she had to do her own schlepping.
AlteCocker is happy to report that the ceramic bowls, and all the other purchases, made it home in one piece. The bowls, of course, were hand carried on the airplane. The rest of the stuff did very well with the usual packing material: dirty underwear.
A few years later, AlteCocker’s dining room was repapered. The paper was purchased specifically to go with the ceramic bowls. The humongous one was hong on the wall.
“Where did you ever get those gorgeous bowls?” says a visitor. “Sorrento,” says YentaKvetch smugly with just the right touch of disdain.
Several years later, however, the large bowl hanging on the wall was dropped and shattered. It was replaced on a subsequent trip to Italy (not the one where AlteCocker smashed up her arm).
I gotta tell ya: AlteCocker never did this again. Older and wiser, she now has a house full tschotschkes and has ceased buying almost anything on her trips. In fact, the surplus tschotschkes were sold on ebay years ago. AlteCocker learned her lesson--not to mention her credit cards learning theirs.