10 things to do near Menaggio. Part 2. Shop

3. Shop.
This is more fun if you don't speak Italian.
I confidently went to a deli to get yeast. I think I told them I was making bread with flowers and thought I asked for yeast but their response (not in season till December) made me wonder wtf I asked for!
I had to exit the shop, consult Prof Google, and with a bashful look on my face, re-enter and ask again.

Shopping in Menaggio ranges from basic to advanced. 

Basic shopping. The local Conad supermarket is fantastic. It has a reasonable selection of fruit and veggies (DON'T TOUCH! you have to be served by the attendant), a delicatessen, and the usual range of stocked shelves

Without the photo as proof, you'd think this was fiction. (Get it?)

Iphone 4 shots of the supermarket.. not great quality
but you get the idea. 

Much pasta.

The Italians seem much more "cool" than the French. While the French are bemused by mistakes in pronunciation, I get the feeling that the Italians are a bit offended that you haven't done enough practice, and they quickly resort to "business mode".. "Let's serve this tourist and move on to a real person". Maybe it's because I kept accidentally saying "Merci". I've decided that the evidence that multilingual people are well protected against dementia is well founded... it takes quite a quick and nimble mind to cope with the changes in language. I admire those who can do it with aplomb.

Advanced shopping involves jewellery, scarves, clothes and the like. I'm not qualified for this, so I leave it to others who are more confident. There are some really nice scarves here, a local specialty. Mary bought one, and so did Lis.