Carrefour Supermercato:  Andata e Ritorno (The Carrefour Supermarket, Going and Returning, or the Kindness of Strangers, Part 2)

Remember my trip last week to the grocery store? Well, I went there again today. I didn’t plan to go there today; it just worked out that way. After I’d bought my all-day combination ticket for the Funiculare (cable car) and metro (3.60 euros) at the Tobacco Shop so that I could explore the Historic Centre of Naples,

I walked all the way downhill to the Funiculare stop only to find out that there’s a workers’ strike today. And the buses? The young man at the snack counter told me that maybe they would run and then again, maybe not. I told him I understood that that’s the way it is in Italy (this conversation was all in English). The Funiculare was maybe going to start up again this evening at 5 p.m.- but then again, maybe not.

So on  my way walking back to the apartment, I stopped in at the shop where I’d bought the transportation ticket just moments before and told them there was a strike today. They didn’t know if the buses were affected or not either, but they said I could try waiting at a stop. I knew better than to do that! I’ve been in Italy just long enough to know that “maybe; maybe not” means…”don’t count on it”! So, I decided to continue on my walk to see if I could make it to the grocery without zigging instead of zagging this time.  And I did.

It wasn’t as hot today as it’s been, so I figured that I could buy a few small items and would be able to carry them back up the hill to the apartment as long as the bags weren’t too heavy.

With confidence, I placed my 1 euro coin in the slot of the grocery cart and popped out the chain, freeing the cart.  I already knew the layout of the store, so I breezed through the produce section (2 lbs. of sweet, green grapes), the dairy cases (a small chunk of Brie and 2 cups of cocoanut yogurt), the bread aisle (a small loaf of foccacia bread and some little crostini breads), then 2 bars of Dove soap, a small bottle of Coke, a box of store-brand English Breakfast tea bags, my favorite Biscotti sugar cookies, and a small bag of rice cakes.

And then I was all ready to check out. Someone wheeled in ahead of me in the line at the cashier (I’ve noticed this happens to me a lot; people frequently step right up to the counter in front of me when I’m buying a bottle of water, for instance, at a snack bar). I simply said “prego”,  (please) with a smile, and this lady wheeled her cart ahead. So while I was stacking my items on the counter, I dropped one of the yogur