I know, I know … Christmas is over but sometimes when you live in a foreign country (read: Italy) you see funny things you just have to share with the rest of the world.
 
Like, for example the Christmas present I saw last month when I was wrapping up my to-buy list.
 
I was with my Irish pal and I heard her gasp and say, “Now why in the world would they write that?”
 

 
Hmm … I guess someone wasn’t on Santa’s Good List this year …
 
What are some other funky things you have seen written in English in foreign countries? Were any as bad as this? Please share!
 

 
Today is the final installment of Sila Fridays …
 
Wait. Wait.
 
Don’t be sad.
 
Today is the final installment of Sila Fridays until I get back up there and tour a different area.
 
By now you know about getting to La Sila, you know of quaint Villaggio Mancuso, you know where to eat and sleep and today, you will learn where to shop!
 

 

Nope. You didn’t misread that sign.

 

It really says McN’duja.

 

As you enter the main street in Villaggio Mancuso, you will be greeted by Ronald’s nemesis, McN’duja … but don’t be fooled – the real name of the shop is Sglobalizzatevi.

 

I have no idea what that means.

 

But it is a charming shop.

 

 

A pellet fireplace sits in the corner of the wine section, warming the entire store.

 

 

Fresh Silan meats and cheeses are offered as aperitivi and homemade jams and liquors can be taste-tested before buying.

 

 

You can even pick up some McN’duja to take home.

 

Across the path is Sglobalizziatevi’s sister store, A Putica, owned by the same young couple – Davide and Francesca – who grew up down the road from my husband in Catanzaro.

 

This is the ‘shroom store.

 

Every kind of mushroom you could want is waiting inside.

 

 

See?

 

 

We spent almost an hour at the two stores, visiting with the owners and stocking up on homemade black cherry jelly and hard-to-find wine.

 

Davide and Francesca can also help you with personalized tours of Il Parco Nazionale della Sila.

 

For more information, you can contact them at info (at) aputica (dot) it or visit them in person at

 

A Putica / Sglobalizzatevi

Villaggio Mancuso

88055 Taverna (Catanzaro) Italy

 

Did all this food talk get you hungry? If so, head over to Michelle’s where she baked up some chocolate chip cookies for this week’s La Buona Cucina Americana!

Catanzaro has made it. We have arrived. No longer do I have to beg, steal, or borrow for…

 
Ok, let me back up.
 
A few weeks ago I was strolling through downtown Catanzaro and happened to find myself in a quaint little bookstore. (I “find” myself there quite often as I am a bookstore junkie…regardless of the genre, languages, or coffee and tea selection.)
 
I wandered up the narrow, winding stairs to my favorite sections…travel, cooking, languages.
 
As I’m perusing through the comic book section (yes…this is the only thing interesting to me in Italian) I take a step back and lightly bump into a cardboard display.
 
I turn to the left and gasp!
 

 
“Get Away?” I understand that!
 
Lingua Straniera??
 
Dio Mio!
 
I hold my breath and take a step back.
 

 
I pause just a moment, either paralyzed by the overwhelming shock of the situation, or to soak in the glory of the moment…I’m not sure which. Once I break myself from the spell, I dive in.
 
Frank McCourt…
 
Dan Brown…
 
Sophie Kinsella?!?!
 
A tear comes to my eye.
 
Then, I turn a book over.
 
10 euro…12 euro…15 euro…
 
I quickly do the conversion in my head.
 
$15.00…$19.00…$24.00???
 
I put the books back.
 
I leave the bookstore still floating and smiling in my new-found, yet un-purchased, treasures. Whenever I want, or need, a new book, I know where to go. However, at those prices, I might just have to borrow, or beg, or ….