A very small survival guide to Veneto (for ignorant northerners). Vol 2 - bringing stuff back

Eveliis asks:
2. What should I bring back? How much should I pay?

The souvenirs are a trap if they're a social obligation, especially for the people who don't travel often. You need to bring back something for everyone, and I mean EVERYONE - the friends, the family, the lady at the bakery, the neighbour, the neighbour's cat. This is where you'll need a lot of something that doesn't weigh, cost or occupy a lot of space, so that you can fit in everything you're bringing back for yourself (the things that do cost, weigh, and take up space). It's a lose-lose situation though. For you, who'll have to hunt for stuff, and for the people back home who probably wanted something more expensive anyway.

The best thing to buy and take back is the food, obviously. Make a round of the cheese counter and you're all set. (Except in the summer that's a bit problematic.) The chocolate is not bad. Pesto is not bad either, though it's readily available for triple price at any Estonian village shop nowadays. It might be an idea to get some key ingredients and cook an Italian meal back home instead of buying overpriced bric-a-brac off tourist streets.

Then there are all the wines, Limoncello, Biancorosso and grappa - that's mostly what takes up all the space in my bags when I go home. You can buy all the wine you like - even really decent ones will still cost less than a crappy bottle of your average red back home. The problem is carrying them, and fitting them in your luggage, and getting them home safely. Some bottles are always in order though. Very generally in the north the white wines and Prosecco (that's Italian champagne, except that it's better than champagne) are best, in the centre it's the reds and the very south has some of the best liquors around and the wines are usually quite strong.

(The only thing that you can honestly forget is any form of bread. That's something that Italians just haven't figured out yet.)

About the prices: if you really want to save, you need time for checking on the same kind of things in a few shops and then go back to the cheapest one. That's pretty much the only way. Many of the tourist shops count on the see-grab-pay-run tourists that desperately need gifts to bring back for all their friends, so the prices differ considerably. In any case, bargaining is usually NOT in order. It's possible, but I've only ever seen it happen once here - it was a true masterpiece, that scene, but I don't think a foreigner like myself could ever get away with anything like that.

In short - if you need to get something to bring back, best get some food - that's always authentic. If you need something for yourself, well, there isn't really anything you absolutely have to buy. Some general shopping for quality shoes is great around here though, except I imagine that is sure to burn your budget quite quickly. Anyway, the tourists' now-or-never attitude to buying stuff is what takes the fun out of the whole thing. Just take it easy. What's the worst thing that can happen if you just enjoy yourself and don't worry about shopping?

Up next: Where can I get pizza and beer at 1 am?